Transcript LAND REFORM AND FOOD SECURITY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: …

LAND REFORM AND FOOD SECURITY IN
SOUTHERN AFRICA: A GENDER
PERSPECTIVE
BY
ABBY TAKA MGUGU
WOMEN’S LAND AND WATER RIGHTS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
13 LANGHAM: UNIVERISTY OF ZIMBABWE
MT.PLEASANT
HARARE: ZIMBABWE
INTRODUCTION
• CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LAND QUESTION IN
SOUTHERN AFRICA :
• THE HISTORY OF THE COLONIAL POWER SHAPED THE
LAND QUESTION IN THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN COUNTRIES
WITH MARKED DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE PORTUGUESE
AND THE BRITISH
•
IN THE BRITISH COLONIES LAND QUESTION SHAPED BY:
-
IMBALANCES IN THE PATTERNS OF OWNERSHIP IN FORMER
SETTLER COLONIAL STATES OF NAMIBIA, SOUTH AFRICA
AND ZIMBABWE
-
TENURE RIGHTS AND LAND USE WERE THE FEATURES IN
THE FORMER PROTECTORATES OF BOTSWANA, MALAWI
AND ZAMBIA
INTRODUCTION CONT’D
• THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT AS DETERMINED BY THE
COLD WAR ALSO HAD AN IMPACT ON THE LAND QUESTION
IN THE REGION.
•
RESULTING IN COUNTRIES LIKE ANGOLA TANZANIA AND
MOZAMBIQUE OPTING FOR A SOCIALIST MODEL
• THE ABOVE FACTORS PROVIDE A FOCUS ON THE LAND
REFORM PROGRAMMES IN THE REGION
LAND QUESTION PATTERNS IN THE SADC REGION
Land Reform milestones
• Former Portuguese colonies
• ANGOLA:
• AT INDEPENDENCE PRIVATE PROPERTY ABOLISHED
• STATE FARMS AND COOPERATIVES FORMED
• STATE FARMS ABOLISHED IN 1985: INDIVIDIAL
ALLOCATION PUT IN PLACE
• INDIVIDUAL LAND RIGHTS EMERGING
• NO POLICY POSITION DUE TO THE PROTRACTED CIVIL WAR
PORTUGUESE COLONIES
• Mozambique
• 1975 ALL LAND NATIONALISED WITH LIMITED PRIVATE
OWNERSHIP: LARGE SMALL HOLDER COOPERATIVE
ESTABLISHED; VILLAGISATION SCHEMES AND LARGE
STATE FARMS
• 1983 STATE OWNED COMPANIES EMERGED:
• 1997 LAND LAW PASSED AND UPHOLDS NATIONALISATION
OF THE LAND
• LAW RECOGNISES THE RIGHT TO LAND THROUGH
OCCUPATION
• GUARANTEES COMPANIES AND COMMUNITIES ‘TITLE FOR
USE AND IMPROVEMENT ON LAND’ FOREIGN INVESTORS
GRANTED 50 YEAR LEASES RENEWABLE FOR ANOTHER 50
YEARS
SETTLER COLONIES:
SOUTH AFRICA, NAMIBIA AND ZIMBABWE
• CHARACTERISED BY EXTREME INEQUALITIES IN THE
DISTRIBUTION OF LAND BETWEEN WHITES & BLACKS
• SOUTH AFRICA (87%) WHITES AND BLACKS (13%)
• NAMIBIA: 45% AND 74% POTENTIAL ARABLE LAND
OWNED BY 2% OF THE POPULATION MAINLY
WHITE
• ZIMBABWE: 45% OF LAND OWNED BY 1% OF POPN
• AT INDEPENDENCE GOVTS EMBARKED ON MARKET
DRIVEN LAND REFORM
• SOUTH AFRICA ADOPTED A DEMAND DRIVEN AND RIGHTS
BASED APPROACH TO TENURE REFORMS
• ZIM PROVIDED PEMITS THAT DEFINED TENURE RIGHTS TO
LAND AND SYSTEM IS INSECURE
• IN 2000 ZIM INITIATED AND SUPPORTED LAND
OCCUPATIONS
GENDER DIMENSIONS IN THE LAND REFORMS IN THE REGION
• REGION IS PATRIARCHAL: LAND IS ALLOCATED TO MALE
MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY
• WOMEN’S RIGHTS ERODED DURING COLONISATION AND
CONCEPT UPHELD IN THE POST INDEPENDENT STATE
• CONCEPT IGNORES INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS
INTRUMENTS THAT THE GOVTS ARE PARTY TO
• WOMEN’S SECONDARY RIGHTS TO LAND AND OTHER
PRODUCTIVE RESOURCES DETRIMENTAL TO THE REGION’S
PROGRAMME OF INTEGRATION AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
OVERVIEW OF FOOD SECURITY IN AFRICA
• FOOD INSECURITY HAS BEEN TOPICAL IN THE SSA
DISCOURSE FOR THE PAST THREE DECADES SHOWING
THAT:
• 620 MILLION PEOPLE ARE POOR AND OF THIS 80% LIVE
BELOW USD2 PER DAY AND 50% LIVE BELOW USD1 PER
DAY
• 97% OF THE FOOD INSECURE ARE IN SSA
• OUT OF THE 97% WHO ARE FOOD INSECURE 34% ARE
CLASSIFIED AS MALNOURISHED
• 70% OF THE POPN LIVE IN RURAL AREAS WHILE
URBANISATION IS LOW AT AN ESTIMATE OF 30%
• RURAL POPULATION DEPEND ON SUBSISTENCE
AGRICULTURE FOR THEIR LIVELIHOODS
PRODUCTION LEVELS IN SSA
• PRODUCTION LEVELS IN SSA ARE LOW COMPARED TO
OTHER REGIONS
• 2001 CEREAL YIELDS:
AFRICA
1230Kg/.Ha
ASIA
3090Kg/Ha
LATIN AMERICA
3040Kg/Ha
EU
5470Kg/Ha
REASONS FOR LOW PRODUCTIVITY:
• EXTENSIVE CROP PRODUCTION RATHER THAN INTENSIVE
FARMING
• OVER USE OF SOILS AND SOIL EROSION
• DEPENDENCY ON INORGANIC CHEMICALS WHICH
FARMERS CAN NO LONGER AFFORD
• EXTREME CLIMATIC VARIABILITY WITH ALTERNATING
DROUGHTS AND FLOODS
OVERVIEW OF FOOD SECURITY IN SADC
• NEGATIVE PER CAPITA FOOD PRODUCTION GROWTH
BETWEEN 1980 AND 1995 OF –1.0% AGAINST A POPULATION
GROWTH OF 3.0% PER ANNUM
• THE STATUS OF FOOD INSECURITY AS EVIDENCED BY THE
INCREASED NUMBER OF MALNOURISHED ( 38% BETWEEN
1990- 92 AND 42% BETWEEN 1997 – 99)
• FURTHER EVIDENCED BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN NEED
OF FOOD AID WHICH WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 14 MILLION
BY 2002:
ZIMBABWE 49%; MALAWI 29% LESOTHO 30% ZAMBIA 26%
SWAZILAND 49% MOZAMBIQUE 3% (ECA 2003)
2003/4 SEASON SHOWED NO IMPROVEMENT IN THE FOOD
SITUATION IN THE REGION WITH TOTAL AID REQUIREMENT
STANDING AT 2.9 MILLION METRIC TONNES:
OVERVIEW OF FOOD SECURITY INSADC CONT’D
Lesotho 600 000: Malawi 400 000; Mozambique 659 000 Namibia 640
000 ( A Third Of The Total Nation’s Population) Swaziland 217 000;
Zimbabwe 5 Million
2005/2006 STATUS
1% Increase In Maize Harvest: 13% above the past five-year average: the
surplus in located in South Africa
INCREASES REALISED IN :Angola (38%) Lesotho (40%) South Africa
27%: Swaziland (6%); Tanzania (2%)
Decreases experienced in Botswana (69%); Malawi (29%);
Zambia (29%): Zim (75%)
Overview of food security cont’d
pple in need of food aid: 2005/2006
Country
# in need
of food aid
Lesotho
541 000
Malawi
4 224 400
Moz
587 000
Swaziland
227 000
Zambia
1 232 661
Zimbabwe
2 900 000
Total
9 712 061
(Zim Figures require further verification)
(Source SADC FANR 2005)
Est. Cereal needs mt tonnes
20 370
269 600
70 000
27 000
118000
225 000
730 305
REASONS FOR FOOD INSECURITY IN THE
REGION
GENERAL REASONS
Climatic variability - droughts and floods
• Droughts 1981- 82 1991 –92 2001 – 2002
Floods :
• Cyclone Eline
• Perennial floods of Western Zambia; Eastern Angola and Zambezi
valley in Zimbabwe
HIV and AIDS
Overall policy framework at national levels
Reasons for food deficit in selected countries
• Botswana: Poor rains and reduced planting led to a 44% decrease in
2005 harvest
• Lesotho: increase of 47% realising 119 000 tonnes from 81 600 tonnes
Zambia: maize prodn declined by 29% to 866 000 tonnes from 1,2
million in 2004 due to poor rains
Zimbabwe: production dropped by 75% due to poor rains and the Fast
Track Land Reform Programme. (NB: Figures for Zim not very clear)
Trade and Food Security
•
The SADC Trade Protocol 1996 governs trade in the region with the
following objectives
- remove tariff and non-tariff barriers in the region
- achieve free trade area within 8 years
- Tanzania : does not allow exportation of maize without a licenses
- Malawi: requires import licenses for meat poultry and sugar; export licenses
for maize, maize meal and tea
- Zambia: imposes temp import and export bans for some agric commodities
esp. maize
- Zimbabwe: The GMB has the monopoly of exporting and importing maize
and rice
The skewed trading patterns btwn North and South also
account for cont’d food insecurity in the region
Conclusions
• Lack of a common position on land reform will continue to plague the
region
• Uneven access to factors of production
• Non-implementation of the land desk at SADC secretariat
• Mismanagement and poor governance
• Corruption – the case of Malawi
• Economic problems and inflation ( case of Zimbabwe)
• SADC fails to meet the MDGS esp. goal 1 and 3