16 April 2014: The EU has launched a program designed to improve the food security and land governance of family farmers in ten African countries. The project underscores the importance of secure land and resource tenure to the achievement of development goals.

The $45 million program will apply many of the principles within the ‘Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests,’ which was adopted by the Committee on World Food Security in 2012. The program will be implemented in Angola, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, and Swaziland. It will apply new land registration tools and digital land registry techniques, support local organizations to increase awareness of land rights, and formalize land documentation to recognize rights.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) will contribute to implementation in Kenya and Somali through policy analyses and analytical support. The program was announced at the ‘High Level Meeting on Property Rights: the Missing Key to Eradicating Poverty,’ held on 9 April 2014 at the European Parliament. [FAO Press Release] [Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land] [EU Press Release]