Land Access
Inequalities surrounding access to land and natural resources comprise the main structural factors behind ongoing power struggles in various parts of the world including the African Great Lakes region. In eastern DRC, the land tenure system remains a critical driver of inter and intra-ethnic conflict. Land not only serves as a trigger for conflict, but also plays a pivotal role in perpetuating ongoing conflicts, which are mostly informal, involving local disputes within families and communities and concern boundaries as well as verbal rental agreements.
Through the RBA Resilience Initiative, efforts have been made to improve relations between landowners and vulnerable small-holder tenants. More specifically, the initiative aimed at improving land access and protecting the rights of tenants, as such improving the livelihoods and building the resilience of local communities.
Farmers work the corn harvest in Kalehe, South Kivu, DRC. ©FAO
The corn harvest spread out . Kalehe, South Kivu, DRC. ©FAO
SOME KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Access to land: For farmers, the guarantee of having access to land for the entire duration of the contract over several planting seasons was an incentive to develop their capacities and implement good agricultural practices.
- Social cohesion: FAO supported the creation of a framework for consultation between tenant farmers and landowners who previously did not communicate. This promoted reconciliation and intercommunal social cohesion.
- Community-based rural finance: Involving farmers in Village Savings and Loan Associations allowed them to boost their financial resources and access emergency funds, leading to increased production and additional income generating activities.
The methodology adopted for this project was built upon previous FAO interventions implemented between 2013 to 2015, which initiated the development of an integrated approach to address the multidimensional and multistakeholder problem of land conflicts: the Green Negotiated Territorial Development (GreeNTD) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Throughout the project, farmers and landowners formed a partnership that helped reduce land disputes, enabled people to access arable lands, and helped promote reconciliation and social cohesion. While the situation remains volatile, the project has improved agricultural livelihoods, income, nutrition and food security for vulnerable populations. The same approach has been carried out in other provinces in South Kivu and has seen positive results.
This video, filmed in South Kivu in January and February of 2023, shows the impact of land access negotiations that used the same methodology.