African Union land seminar recommends security of tenure
By Tererai Karimakwenda
21 November 2005

The African Union organised a seminar in Kenya last week titled “African Commodities- Problems and Strategic Options”, to work out a plan as to how the continent should move forward in order to maximise its resources and achieve food security. Problems with land in Zimbabwe and the land crisis developing in South Africa were cited as examples of what hinders production. Delegates made recommendations that were submitted to heads of state who started their seminar on African Commodities in Tanzania Monday. The seminar in Kenya was attended by delegates from 27 countries, 9 producer organisations and NGOs such as the World Food Programme and The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). There were also representatives from the SADC region and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The purpose of the seminar was to discuss access to land for all, access to security of tenure, and access to structured financing. Trevor Gifford of The Commercial Farmers Union, who just returned from the seminar, said the delegates agreed it is difficult to produce food for internal consumption and for export without these 3 elements. They also stressed that it was time for African governments to stop talking about these issues and start implementing sound programmes to bring progress.Gifford said because it was a continental seminar not limited to the problems in any one country, the lack of security of land tenure in Zimbabwe was briefly discussed. The other countries acknowledged the Zimbabwe land crisis as a good example of what is keeping the continent from developing, and hoped that the heads of state would take up the issue. Gifford said the African continent has been looking at the external international community as its biggest market, not realising it is actually Africa itself.