1.0 Introduction



ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION AND INEQUALITY OF ACCESS TO LANDWalter Chambati (Speaking Notes)Outline of Presentation TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u 1.0 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc445216152 \h 12.0 Africa’s Land problems PAGEREF _Toc445216153 \h 22.1 Settler colonial land expropriation and racial inequalities PAGEREF _Toc445216154 \h 32.2 Class based inequalities: land concentration form above and below PAGEREF _Toc445216155 \h 32.2.1 Growing land scarcities, declining land sizes and poverty PAGEREF _Toc445216156 \h 32.2.2 Land control differentiation: accumulation form ‘above’ and ‘below’ PAGEREF _Toc445216157 \h 42.3 Foreign land ownership PAGEREF _Toc445216158 \h 42.4 Outward focused land use policies and discriminating land use regulations PAGEREF _Toc445216159 \h 42.5 Discriminatory customary tenure systems and land markets PAGEREF _Toc445216160 \h 52.6 Gender inequalities in land access and tenure insecurity PAGEREF _Toc445216161 \h 73.0 Recent land grabs and subordination of the peasantry PAGEREF _Toc445216162 \h 73.1 Overview of African Land Grabs PAGEREF _Toc445216163 \h 73.2 Contours of Recent Land Grabs PAGEREF _Toc445216164 \h 74.0 Agrarian Reforms PAGEREF _Toc445216165 \h 95.0 Agrarian policy responses during neo-liberal crisis PAGEREF _Toc445216166 \h 101.0 IntroductionAgrarian transition in Africa stalled 50 years after decolonization: Land access remains keyAfrican peasants face crisis of reproduction- food insecurity and malnutrition, volatile food pricesBasic AQ of improving agricultural productivity still to be resolved (Mafeje, 2003)Improving supplies of wage, foods and providing raw materials for basic industrial and employment development (Patnaik, 2003)Promoting accumulation from belowFailed agrarian transition tended to be normally attributable to Africa’s ecological imperatives , land tenure deficiencies and putative technological backwardnessNeglect effects of land alienation, the super- exploitation of labourUnequal trade relationsAbsence of positive agrarian policy interventions such as those found in the NorthFailure obtaining a semi-industrialisation peripheral status (e.g. South Africa- racially unequal structures)Varied modes of colonization: different strategies of capitalist penetrationSettler status- extensive land d ispossessionNon-settler- exploitation of peasant labour through export commodity productionStructural adjustment in the 1990’s: policy shifts from ‘food self-sufficiency’ to ‘food security’ increased dependency on food imports and aidMore recently: dispossession of African peasantry of their best lands and water; exploitation of labour as out-growers and contracted farmers.Current agricultural land reforms neglect the social reproduction requirements of African peasantries: food deficits used to justify the current land grabbing and create large scale farms.2.0 Africa’s Land problemsSettler land expropriation and racial land inequalities (table)Class based inequalities: ‘above’ and ‘below’Ethnic and regional differentiation in land controlForeign control of land minerals/natural resources)Contested landholding structures (farm sizes regulation, taxation, viability)Table 2.1: Significance of Land in Rural Livelihood 2.1 Settler colonial land expropriation and racial inequalitiesZimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia and KenyaTable 2.2: Settler alienation of land in southern AfricaSettler Africa- bimodal land ownership regimes.Peasant differentiation- indigenous ‘elite’ (e.g. traditional chiefs) own larger pieces of land alongside land start peasants In-between- European plantation enclaves existing alongside the peasantry: Africa of the concessionsMinority indigenous groups- post independent land expropriations by the state- led to reallocation of land to local elites and foreign capitalBotswana (San)- land expropriated for diamond mining and wildlifeHerero in Namibia and Massai in Tanzania and Kenya: land expropriated from them during the colonial times has continued after independence- transferred to majority tribes- diminished land rights for original claimants.2.2 Class based inequalities: land concentration form above and below2.2.1 Growing land scarcities, declining land sizes and povertyDistributional problems not unique to Settler Southern AfricaRelatively low gross per capita population densities but much of the land is arid and most of the soils are not arableWater resources not harnessed for intensive farmingMost idle arable land is in Africa- constraints in the present agricultural technologies and soil fertility managementNatural constraints- TsetseSemi-subsistence agriculture predominant activity: unfavourable climatic conditions, poor markets and infrastructure services and unfavourable physical conditionsPer capita arable land ownership per household declining due to increase in population in the continent.Table 3.1: Total Land Area per person in SSA (Ha/person)YearLand AreaAgric AreaArable land19619.543.750.5419707.633.050.4919805.822.310.3519904.391.790.2920003.361.400.2620102.581.210.22Source: Moyo & Moyo 2015African poverty trends are linked to land access and tenure insecurityDeclining per capita farm sizes in countries considered to be land abundant suggest that farming alone will not sustain livelihoods of land constrained households without substantial shifts of labour from agriculture to non-farm sectorsIn some parts of central Africa (Rwanda and Burundi) scarcity of productive land are a major source of conflicts2.2.2 Land control differentiation: accumulation form ‘above’ and ‘below’Rural differentiation on the basis of accumulation of land : traditional leaders, urban elites, business people: women face the brunt of dispossessionPromotion of middle to large-scale capitalist farming from the 1970’sGrowing land inequalities in countries such as Kenya, Malawi, Ivory Coast, Botswana, Mozambique, Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia In Kenya, 20% of the population own over 50% of the arable land, while rest own an average of one acre, 13% are landless or don’t have any protectable right over land2.3 Foreign land ownershipConcessioning of land to foreign ownersSmall foreign immigrant populations (Lebanese in West Africa) and Asians in East Africa have become associated with large freehold2.4 Outward focused land use policies and discriminating land use regulationsDevelopment policies including macro-economic incentives and public allocations direct land use not for national development but accumulation by small elitesExport focused agriculture appropriates most of the resources: in Zimbabwe 65% of the creditLimited support for domestic market goods produced by peasantsConversion of farm land towards export oriented wildlifeLarge farms considered critical for agricultural export growth and small farms should focus on production for own consumption and domestic marketsLow productivity for commodities produced by peasantsYet food security is critical for the majority of rural people in Africa2.5 Discriminatory customary tenure systems and land marketsColonisation in Africa defined land as communal and customary possessionCustom was not voluntary or socially sanctioned but enforced by colonial governments in order to tighten the control of the colonial state on nativesAt independence most African countries inherited dual, unequal and hierarchical system of land tenure in which freehold and leasehold land rights were treated as superior forms of land rights over customary land rightsContrary to indigenous tradition since colonial times Africans living in areas under customary tenure systems have tended to occupy the lands by permission of the state, which is the ultimate owner or holder of radical titleOccupation and use of land was controlled by criminal law and sanctions while they had no legally entrenched rights Forced removals always a possibility through administrative act.Customary occupiers occupy such land not as a matter of legal right, but a discretion of the PresidentSTATE LAND EXPROPRIATION IS THE MAIN SOURCE OF LAND TENURE INSECURITY: PUBLIC INTERESTTenure inequalities are reinforced by expropriation of land for commercial and social development by central state institutions in the name of national interestsLegal channels to oppose expropriation are limitedState has created the legal framework for expropriationUnrepresentative local authorities including chiefs, elders and others in leadership provisionsChanges in land tenure in the transition to a market economy and imposed land tenure reforms Modality concept of property from control of wealth based upon social, cultural and use values (e.g to provide food and shelter) to ownership material and marketable goodsProblematic for societies to enforce their roles and practices of allocating community resources such as land for welfare and sustenanceAdaptation of customary norms come at a cost of women and minority ethnic groups who are considered secondary members of the communityLand tenurial complexity co-founded by two significant political and economic processes- increased population density and commercial agriculture- result in land scarcity and competition for land and in increasing levels of individualization of land rightsLand scarcity reduces prospects for rotation and less land to allocate to newly formed householdsNomadic pastoralism also constrained in this way in East and West African statesIncreased commercialization has increased pressures on land through the growing ‘informal’ land markets: women vulnerable to forced sales to emerging capitalist farmersIncreased commodity production and growing individualisation and particular application of customary land tenure rules have withered away women’s tenure securityIn the Sahel region (Senegal, Mali, Niger and Nigeria to Sudan and Chad) agro-pastoralism is dominant involving about 50 million people in SSAMobile livestock rearers seeking optimal grazing resources within nation states and across bordersExtension of cash cropping along the cattle corridors increasingly marginalizing pastoralistsCan fields over land, water during lean seasons.Individual rights to land are defined from relations with other persons in the household and community and these are in turn determined and shaped by societal institutionsChiefs or lineage herd considered ultimate custodian of community land, but all households belonging to community have recognized right to local and other natural resourcesPreoccupation with conversion of customary land to tenures amenable to market relations such as individual relations such as individual freehold and leasehold titlePrivatisation programmes Land registration programmesSponsored by donorsProblems of customary tenure sought to be addressed through privatization programmes - assess clear tradable property rights limited tenure security and hindered investment and food securityLand tenure reforms as part of the package of trade liberalisation and deregulation of domestic marketsMost of these tenure reforms collapsedTitling progress reinforced existing inequalities in land ownershipPolicy efforts / responses have been disproportionately focused on land tenure reforms of customary tenurePrivatisation programmes Land registration programmesSponsored by donorsLand registration benefits have been limited on investment, financing and productivityIncreased transaction costs of land – excluded the poor- benefitted elite classesSecure tenure is the problem- weak administration systems identified for reformMarket based land reforms: willing buyer- willing sellerLand tenure security should guarantee a secure place to live free from threat of eviction and with access to productive land and natural resources.2.6 Gender inequalities in land access and tenure insecurity Women’s access to and control of land is inadequate and constrained by various customary and generally patriarchal social relationsTheir tenure where they hold land is insecureProvide labour for farming under severely exploitative relations of productionClan and family patriarchs control the means of production- dominance of male headed decision makingInequitable rewards to small scale production undermine peasant farm productivityWomen are also increasingly proletarianised3.0 Recent land grabs and subordination of the peasantry3.1 Overview of African Land GrabsForeign land grabs mainly target 20 African countries87.3% is concentrated in 11 countries Only 6 countries account for 77 percent of total land area grabbedSouthern African accounts for 29% of the area; East and West jointly accounted for 47% and Central and North Africa jointly account for 10 percent3.2 Contours of Recent Land GrabsRecent land grabs occurring mainly in non-settler countries (no significant prior land alienation and/or land privatisationSome privately owned lands in the former settler colonies sold to foreign capital (i.e. 4% of SSA grab)Limited agro-ecological potential (lower rainfall and desertic lands) restrain land grabs in Namibia, S. Africa, Botswana, N. Africa, etc.Zimbabwe has reversed 1st wave of historically land grab by 2010, but few privately and state owned agro-industrial estates remain;Non-settler colonial countries, where migrant farmers historically allocated significant amounts of high potential land (e.g. Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, etc) have registered recent land grabs;Over 80% of the overall land grabs in Africa entails alienation of customarily owned lands, facilitated by the state; Abundant and unutilised land with no formal owners based on privatised land tenure notionsThe privatisation of state agriculture estates, forests and conservancies in non-settler countries accounts for 10% of overall land grabbed (e.g. Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, etc)Beyond land grabs- persistent strategy during the current crisis of capitalization is to deepen the incorporation of African peasantries into the world markets/ agricultural export chains- eg. AGRA that are tied to monopoly agribusiness (seed companies- hybrid and GM technologies)Carbon trading schemes seek to get more land and biodiversity under external controlTop 30 African countries targeted for land grabs CountrySizeDealsHa%No.%Sudan3,123,430 18.5%174.2%Ethiopia2,412,562 14.3%5613.7%Madagascar2,176,241 12.9%368.8%Mozambique2,017,912 11.9%9623.5%Tanzania1,115,179 6.6%4110.0%Sierra Leone1,085,742 6.4%215.1%Benin1,040,900 6.2%92.2%Liberia662,000 3.9%51.2%Kenya480,000 2.8%82.0%Mali471,891 2.8%256.1%Congo338,000 2.0%30.7%Cameroon300,340 1.8%143.4%Zambia273,413 1.6%82.0%Ghana259,900 1.5%71.7%DRC243,870 1.4%61.5%Zimbabwe201,171 1.2%20.5%Angola183,000 1.1%41.0%Nigeria142,532 0.8%184.4%Ivory Coast100,200 0.6%20.5%Uganda91,012 0.5%61.5%Senegal34,800 0.2%71.7%Malawi30,147 0.2%41.0%Niger29,969 0.2%30.7%South Africa27,124 0.2%30.7%Somalia21,500 0.1%20.5%South Sudan20,450 0.1%10.2%Swaziland15,124 0.1%20.5%Rwanda3,100 0.0%10.2%Burkina Faso1,000 0.0%10.2%Total16,902,509 100%408100%Source: Compiled by author from Land Matrix DatabaseSectors affected by land deals in AfricaSectorAll reported dealsNo. Of deals%Hectares (millions)%Agriculture32372%1,2317,37273%Forestry378%1,008,4376%Livestock only4510%304,5452%Mining72%53,0400%Tourism102%1,844,01911%Industry41%30,0000%Conservation41%0%No information184%1,345,0968%Total448100%16,902,509100%Land deals by crop category in AfricaFood no.CategoryProjectsDealsHa%No.%1Food grain1,640,72516.7%5817.32Food vegetable10,5000.1%72.13Food (tubers, beverage, etc1,224,09412.4%8224.54Flowers21,0000.2%30.95Feedstock6Oilseed2,468,79425.1%6218.57Food/ multiple8Horticulture9Forest853,5978.7%20610Fruits137,7311.4%92.711Medicinal4000.0%20.612Food beverage4,0240.0%30.913Biofuel3,488,38835.4%8926.6Grand Total9,849,253100%335100Source: Land Matrix databaseExploitative labour relations in the LSCFs in Settler Southern Africa: wages below the cost of social reproduction Dispossession is incomplete: agrarian labourers tend to be mobilized from afarLocals retain some means of productionIntra-class conflicts migrant labour versus local labourContract and out grower schemes- exploitative in nature- agricultural export chains4.0 Agrarian ReformsImmediate purpose of agrarian reform is to “… create the conditions for a rise in [agricultural] productivity, such that [the] raw materials and wage–goods needs of a growing manufacturing sector can be met, while labour is released” (Utsa Patnaik, 2003). How agriculture can contribute to national transformation, through diversified industrialisation and improved wage employment, although other sectors (such as mining, tourism, etc) are expected to contribute Land reform constitutes a key component of agrarian reformsLand reforms are necessary but not sufficient to achieve food security and national development Agrarian reforms include the re-orientation of the purpose and effectiveness of land utilization (agricultural production) to satisfy the home market (food and industries) and forex earnings, within a national development strategy. Goal - address the prevailing food insecurity, high unemployment levels and absolute poverty. 5.0 Agrarian policy responses during neo-liberal crisisRadical responses to land alienation, food crisis and the demise of the peasantry in Africa that are not donor led are few; activism of social movements has in general failed to reverse land dispossessionPopular responses particularly resistance to the inequitable grabbing of land such as land occupations and other forms of struggle for access to resources that mostly isolated and hold promise if they gain momentum.A few recent agrarian reforms have broken with Bretton Woods to promote market based agricultural productivity growth and land reformMalawi- state input subsidy programme led to expansion of peasant grain productionExproprietory land reforms in Zimbabwe have led to extensive land distribution and deep structural change in agrarian relations- but both remain tied to the neo-liberal policy frameworkRe-direction of production towards internal markets is ultimately the most essential shift required if economic diversification based upon industrialization is to be realized Equitable distribution of land and secure land (not necessarily as private property) is a pre-condition for the social reproduction of an actually existing and growing peasantry in SSA.Building capacities of small producers to produce for the internal home market ................
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