Economic Growth Tanzania, United Republic of Project #35132

Help rural farmers in Africa gain access to land

by Rural Development Institute DBA Landesa

Project Report | Mar 7, 2019
Landesa Project Report, March, 2019

By Eleanor Trenary | Philanthropy Officer

Community Theater in Liberia

Dear Friends,

We continue to be humbled by the generous support from individuals like you to help the poorest families in the world gain secure land rights. As of March 1, we have raised over 75% of our $8,000 goal!

In Africa, 2019 is already shaping up to be an important year in the development of land rights. Across the continent, Landesa and our local partners continue to be at the forefront of developing pro-poor and gender-sensitive land governance laws, including the recently passed Liberia Land Rights Act, which returned land to the rural communities who depend on land for their livelihoods.

Spotlight on Lorpa

Lorpa lives in rural Liberia with her family. After her father’s passing, Lorpa inherited property, causing conflict with one of her brothers. Given strong biases toward male inheritance within traditional Liberian culture, Lorpa is unsure of her future on the land and very concerned about how she will provide for her five children. Through community dramas and awareness gatherings presented by Landesa and our local partner, DEN-L, Lorpa and others in the community are learning about land and inheritance rights. Lorpa is optimistic after learning more about the rights of women in her community, and across Liberia, and hopes that increasing awareness will “bring unity to my family so that everyone understands their rights to land.”

The impact of Landesa’s work extends far beyond Lorpa’s village. In other parts of the country, as well as across Africa, Landesa is committed to ensuring all families have secure land rights:

In Tanzania, Landesa recently began training government officials, civil society organizations, and paralegals on how to responsibly invest in land, using a guidebook developed by Landesa and now available in Swahili. These guidebooks each focus on a different audience—private companies, rural communities, and government officials—and provide valuable insight and best practices on land-based investments. This crucial resource helps stakeholders from each of these groups protect land rights for communities and smallholder farmers.
In Liberia, Landesa is working with our local implementing partners, Development Education Network-Liberia and the Foundation for Community Initiatives, to develop a host of resources to train and educate community members on the recently passed Liberia Land Rights Act and other laws that protect women’s land rights. These resources, presented in community-friendly mediums like songs and community theater, play an important role in changing norms around the rights of youth and women.
In Zimbabwe, Landesa staff prepared and presented a report on land dispute resolution strategies to the Zimbabwe Land Commission. The research, which analyzed 15 case studies from countries around the world, will help guide land conflict resolution training for the Zimbabwean government facilitated by Landesa later this year.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Landesa is working to support Mercy Corps in addressing land conflict issues as they arise through programs supporting small farmers, and is partnering closely with a local organization to raise awareness on women’s land rights on all levels as the country moves forward in developing a national land policy.

Thank you so much for your support for land rights across Africa. Together, we will continue to champion secure land rights for millions of the world’s poorest women and men, providing opportunity and promoting social justice. For additional updates on our work around the world, please, visit https://www.landesa.org or follow us on social media.

With gratitude,

Eleanor Trenary
Philanthropy Officer

Lorpa, Liberian Farmer

Links:

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Dec 10, 2018
Landesa Project Report, December 2018

By Eleanor Trenary | Project Leader & Philanthropy Officer

Community members after a training, Liberia

Thank you for your generous support of Landesa’s Global Giving project! Since this project launched, nearly 60 other donors like you have pitched in to raise $3,785 to support land rights work in Africa. It is thanks to the generosity of our supporters that Landesa is able to be a global champion of secure land rights and engage with partners from all parts of society to develop impactful land reform. Over the past three months, our teams in Africa have been busy and we are pleased to share with you some recent accomplishments:

Liberia passes the Land Rights Act

In Liberia, Landesa’s staff celebrated several successes and milestones over the past three months. Chief among these accomplishments was the passage of the Land Rights Act by both houses of the Liberian legislature and subsequent signing into law by President George Weah in September. This bill codifies the direction set by a 2013 policy which included critical inputs from Landesa on customary tenure and women’s land rights. Since September, our team in Liberia has continued to facilitate community trainings, as well as produce a biweekly radio program centered on land rights, which has allowed information to be more easily disseminated to rural communities.

Women’s Land Rights Network Convenes in Tanzania

In October, alumni of Landesa’s Visiting Professional Program from sub-Saharan Africa and local women’s land rights practitioners from Tanzania met in Dar es Salaam to enhance existing partnerships, share knowledge, and develop joint advocacy initiatives. This was the second convening for the Women’s Land Rights Network, providing a crucial opportunity for in-person collaboration between women’s land tenure experts from across the continent.

New Opportunities in Zimbabwe

Following the first free elections in nearly 40 years, the government of Zimbabwe has pushed land reform to the top of policy agenda, asking Landesa to provide trainings on land dispute resolution and new land reforms. Landesa is very excited to be working with the Zimbabwe Land Commission to develop pro-poor and gender sensitive policies. Since the project launched in August, Landesa has overseen land administration study tours for Zimbabwean government officials in neighboring countries, and helped draft regulations to facilitate land dispute resolution.

Thank you so much for your support for land rights across Africa. For additional updates on all of Landesa’s projects around the world, please visit https://www.landesa.org or follow us on social media.

A group of farmers gathered in Kisangire, Tanzania

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