Briefing “Population growth and its implications for ACP rural development”: video material on line!

The video recordings of the 16th Briefing session (“Population growth and its implications for ACP rural development”) are now available! (please click on the name of the speaker to watch his/her intervention): Introductory remarks: Mr Jean-Claude Boidin, European Commission Dr Hansjörg Neun, CTA Panel 1 - Prospects and trends of population growth Chair: Marianne Haslegrave, Commonwealth … Continue reading Briefing “Population growth and its implications for ACP rural development”: video material on line!

Briefing “Land access and rural development: New challenges, new opportunities”: some reactions

What do participants to the 9th Briefing think about the discussions? We gathered some reactions H.E. Mr Ibrahim Bocar Ba, Ambassador of Mali to the European Union, chaired the first panel, which focused on "Land tenure and rural development: key issues". H.E. Ba shares with us his views on the theme of the Briefing. (interview … Continue reading Briefing “Land access and rural development: New challenges, new opportunities”: some reactions

Improving food security and right to food through land access

Given the increasing recognition of land issues in the development debate and the major challenge posed by the phenomenon of land acquisition, Mr Michael Taylor (International Land Coalition) concluded the meeting by stressing the importance to focus on people and notably on local land users. In this framework, he emphasized not only that local people … Continue reading Improving food security and right to food through land access

Increased pressures on available land

Panel 2 of the briefing focused on the recent massive increase in global commercial interest in land and natural resources and on the unprecedented pressures this is creating on land resources and land tenure systems. Lorenzo Cotula from IIED stressed the surge of investment flows to sub-Saharan Africa notably in the agri-food sector, driven by … Continue reading Increased pressures on available land

Land access: an African Land Policy Initiative

Ms Joan Kagwanja (UN Economic Commission for Africa - ECA), illustrated the AU-ECA-AfDB Land Policy Initiative (LPI) aimed at developing a framework and guidelines for land policy in Africa. The Initiative embarked on a rigorous roadmap involving assessment studies and consultations on land policy in Africa. That process, which involved a variety of stakeholders and … Continue reading Land access: an African Land Policy Initiative

Land access: farmers want well negociated land reforms

Marius Dia (ROPPA, West African Farmers Network) stressed that for peasant farmers, the three main justifications of land reform are: - The recognition of genuine land rights for peasant farmers; - The creation of a land tax system in favour of rural communities; - The response to the land needs of urbanisation and the country’s … Continue reading Land access: farmers want well negociated land reforms

Tenure security, equitable access to land and the right to food

In his introductory remarks, Mr. Olivier De Schutter (UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food) pointed out the need to improve tenure security and a more equitable access to land since 1 billion people suffers hunger worldwide and around 80% of them depend on land; research has shown that a more equitable land access … Continue reading Tenure security, equitable access to land and the right to food

Land tenure and rural development

Ms Veniece Pottinger, Assistant Secretary General of the ACP Secretariat in charge of financing development, opened the 9th Brussels Development Briefing by recalling that land is an asset of enormous importance for billions of rural dwellers in the developing world, and especially in ACP countries where land is not just an economic asset, but has … Continue reading Land tenure and rural development