◆Speaker: Shinichi Takeuchi

◆Date: September 13, 2018

◆Presentation at UP-TUFS Seminar held at University of Pretoria

◆Presentation Title: Land and Power in Contemporary Africa: What Recent Land Reforms Have Brought About

◆Abstract:
Since the 1990s, many African countries have launched land law reforms, aiming at strengthening tillers' rights and improving land governance. With donors' strong support, a number of new land laws and policies have been adopted. In particular, many African countries have promoted the land registration. Examining effects of the new land policies on the basis of several case studies in African countries, this paper argues they have led to two outstanding consequences. First, the new land policies have clearly promoted commercialization of land. Within a decade or two, a huge swath of lands in Africa has been enclosed by private actors. Although the main driver of this change should be attributed to other factors including a soaring demand for farm lands due to many reasons such as the rise of emergent economies as well as African macro-economic policies promoting foreign investments, it is no doubt that the land law reforms, in encouraging marketization of land, have pushed this change. Secondly, some countries have strengthened control over the land through the reform. Although rampant "land grabs" have been recently observed in Africa, this does not necessarily means that African authorities have lost their control over the territory.

◆Keywords: land law reform, commercialization, state-building, Africa