By a Staff Reporter

Experts from the African Union Commission (AUC), the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday reiterated the fact that land policy and land reforms are fundamental in addressing issues of poverty, food security and general stability in the African region.

They  were  speaking  at  the  opening  session  of  a  three-day  regional consultative workshop on land policy in North Africa. The workshop was held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa and ended yesterday.

Officials from the AUC, UNECA, and AfDB underscored the urgent need to build solid partnerships for land reforms in Africa.

Dr.  Josue Dioné, director of the Division of Food Security and Sustainable Development at the ECA, said that “many parts of the continent are riddled with conflicts related to failures in systems for land governance, control and use”.

Mr. Peter  Mwanakatwe of the African Development Bank drew a link with the attainment  of the Millennium Development Goals, including the promotion of gender   equality  and  women  empowerment  and  explained  that  they  are interwoven with land use.

Dr.  Abebe Haile-Gebriel of AUC spoke on behalf of Mrs. Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture. He pointed out that “in order to  ensure  that  land policy and agrarian reforms address pertinent issues  in  Africa,  we must recognize the need for a policy framework that addresses  issues  related  to  state  sovereignty  over  land; the unequal distribution  of  land resources, the dualistic nature of property systems, land tenure… and land issues in the post-colonial reconstruction”.

This workshop was the sixth in a series of regional stakeholder consultations aimed at coming out with a consensus document to be tabled at the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government during its July 2009 Summit.

There have been regional consultations for Southern Africa in Windhoek, Namibia, from 29-31 August 2007; Eastern Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, from 16-18 January 2008; West Africa in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 15-18 April 2008 and Central Africa in Yaounde, Cameroon from 6-8 August 2008.

The current workshop hopes to reach consensus on the revisions to finalize the regional background document on land policy in North Africa.

It will also discuss specificities initiatives that should be included in the continental framework.

The key outcome of the regional consultation will be an enhanced regional background  document  whose  elements  will  enrich  the  draft continental framework  and  guidelines,  and  inputs  to  the  development  of relevant benchmark indicators.

The initiative started with a Continental Consultative Workshop in 2006 that discussed major land policy issues and has gone through several phases of assessments and stakeholders consultations leading to the drafting of the “Framework and Guidelines”.

It is supported by the African Union Commission, the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank.