It is likely that rural women will disproportionately bear the socio-economic hardships from COVID-19. Restrictions on the movement of people and goods are disrupting agricultural value chains and food systems. Women have weaker land tenure security and less access to productive resources than men. As markets close and cross-border trade declines;women suffer from not being able to sell their produce;and from lacking access to inputs needed for the next planting season. Lockdowns result in increased domestic and care work for women.

Land in Cameroon is under growing pressure – powerful commercial interests;changing climate conditions and shifting demographic flows including mass migration and increasing population density. The rights of rural communities and indigenous people to access and use land for farming and grazing have been eroded,  primarily due to failure to recognise customary land tenure rights;land use conflicts and lack of effective local governance. The country’s land legislation is outdated and not compatible with customary law and local realities.

An encouraging story about how four communities regained control of their lands acquired by the Bioshape jatropha plantation in Kilwa District. Contains the Bioshape investment and the local response; from community-centred dialogue to government commitments; a reason to celebrate; next steps: consolidating community land tenure in Kilwa and Tanzania.

A policy brief introducing a new book edited by Khwezi Mabasa and Bulelwa Mabasa. The book examines how land and agrarian reform impacts nation building;citizenship and identity formation. It draws attention to the limitations of reducing land to a commodity and how this approach perpetuates social conflict and inequality in land reform policy implementation. The brief argues that it is important to explore the contested meanings of land in society. These varied meanings challenge traditional land reform perspectives.

This commentary highlights the importance of land tenure security for women and indigenous peoples. Land titles are often used as a proxy for women’s land security;but focusing on titling alone does not lead to greater tenure security for women. To ensure tenure security;the development community;policymakers and practitioners must expand the range of interventions that address constraints women face when exercising their land rights.

Covers key policy recommendations from a recent study. How can small-scale agriculture be more employment intensive?; identifying potential for employment creation through land redistribution to small-scale farmers; key opportunities for employment creation; rethinking farm size; promoting flexible land tenure options; customising support services; building capacity; complementary policy reforms; key strategic choices and policy trade-offs.

Secure land tenure is key to eradicating poverty;increasing agricultural investment and ensuring food security;and is an essential element of climate action and climate resilience. Yet women have far weaker rights to land than men. These disadvantages exist broadly and with few exceptions globally and are especially limiting to the well-being of women and their families in rural areas;where land is the basis for livelihood;identity;social standing and social security.

This chapter explores the interface between land tenure rights and soil security and screens through the Cameroonian land tenure legislation in order to identify relevant provisions that guarantee soil security.

Climate change increasingly affects agricultural systems, making it necessary for farmers to adapt to changing climatic conditions. An important element shaping farmers’ adaptation decisions and their vulnerability is their respective land tenure system. Especially land tenure security can strongly influence farmers’ incentives for adapting to climate change.

We measure the eco-efficiency (EE) of agricultural production in regard to soil erosion and decompose it into technical efficiency (TE) and soil conservation efficiency (SCE). Data Envelopment Analysis is applied to a

Pastoralism faces diverse challenges, that include, among others, land tenure insecurity, that has necessitated the need to formalize land rights. Some governments have started regularizing rights for privately owned land, but this is complex to implement in pastoral areas where resources are used and managed collectively. Our aim was to assess how the scale of communal land tenure recognition in pastoralist systems may affect tradeoffs among objectives such as tenure security, flexibility, mobility, and reduction of conflicts.

This is the video of a specific side event at the UNCCD COP 15 that discusses the importance of land tenure rights to achieving land degradation neutrality. This session took place in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on 12 May 2022.