C. Cuambe (FAO, center) presented the VG, developed by FAO and partners

At a panel about "The Rights over Land and Natural Resources" at the III International Conference on Women Farmers over Land, which took place between 1 and 2 October in Maputo, the Program Officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Carla Cuambe, presented the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests. The Guidelines were developed by FAO and its partners and officially endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in 2012 as a response to global pressure over natural resources, the theme of this week’s event.

The National Farmers’ Union (UNAC) has conducted the International Conference on Women Farmers over Land since 2012 with the aim of "supporting the farmers’ struggle in a moment of pressure over land due to diverse investments underway in the country". According to UNAC, the event aims therefore at improving the farmers’ capacity both to manage land and natural resources and to protect their own rights.

As Carla Cuambe pointed out, "although they are not a new instrument in the country", since previously approved legislation – like the Land Law (Law nº 19/97) – guarantees similar rights to farmers, "the Voluntary Guidelines support the exercise of rights, among others the right to non-discrimination in the access to land and the right to own natural resources". FAO’s Officer spoke before representatives of organizations and farmers’ movements as well as activists and scholars from the whole country and shared the panel with Renaldo Chingore, from UNAC, and Dinis Lissave, from the Office of Economic Zones of Accelerated Development (GAZEDA).