The webinar Financial Costs of Mitigating Tenure Risks, organized by the Land Portal Foundation, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), TMP Systems and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, took place on Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021.

The acquisition of agricultural land is growing at an unprecedented rate in Africa, as global demand for food and resources grows. Research shows that land disputes are also on the rise, exposing businesses to severe risks at the project level. The problem is endemic and growing, and companies want evidence-based approaches to address this new reality and understand their exposure to risk. 

The Quantifying Tenure Risk (QTR) project, a joint research initiative from the ODI and TMP Systems, funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, aims to provide the data and analysis that businesses need to reduce land conflict and improve land governance through better informed investment decisions. 

This webinar presented the results of the  report The financial costs of mitigating social risks: Costs and effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies for emerging market investors and discussed the implications of increasing tenure security through enhanced investment strategies.  The report makes the case for tenure risk mitigation in order to engender confidence and trust between investors and local communities, which secures social buy-in and mitigates the financial risks associated with disputes. The findings suggest that investments make clear financial sense. It calls for governments to require investors, both domestic and international, to dedicate financial resources on community engagement activities.