African Research Redefines Land Governance

The second International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD+20), held in Colombia from 24 – 28 February  2026, brought African evidence into global land governance negotiations at a critical moment when Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) Status of Land Tenure and Governance report reaffirmed land inequality as a systemic global risk. 

Drawing on African research, the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) challenged dominant narratives that frame land as “vacant” or underutilised, showing how such assumptions continue to justify dispossession and large-scale land acquisition. The evidence presented underscores that land in Africa is socially embedded and governed through complex customary systems that cannot be reduced to market-based or technocratic solutions.

The discussion also amplified critical debates on “responsible land governance,” highlighting risks of investor-led models that prioritise upward accountability while weakening community rights. It stressed the need to anchor governance in democratic and locally accountable systems, particularly in contexts where less than 10% of rural land is formally registered and where women increasingly demand recognition and control within customary systems.

Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), represented at the conference, reinforced these discussions at policy level.

ICARRD+20 outcomes calls for redistribution, inclusive governance, and stronger accountability to reflect this shift. We are pleased to support African institutions that are not only informing global discourse but actively redefining it.