1. Land Reform Defining land reform
Def: Societal arrangments whereby Governments administers possession and the use of land.
Land reform consist of government initiated or government based real estate property redistribution, generally, agricultural land.
Most often refer to transfer of land from a small number of wealthy( historically nobel) owners to indivduals who directly work the land.

2. Challenges to land reform
Political and ethnic challenges
Land use problems
Institutional tensions
Agreement on land policy
Role of stakeholders
Whom land rights and decision-making is vested in

3. The case for land redistribution
Small farmers are usually:
More efficient;
Better for poverty reduction; and
Better for equity
“Small farmer” = Family farmer, owner-operator, using mostly family labor
And equity is good for growth
While unresolved equity issues can plunge a country into long periods of civil unrest and economic crisis

4. Markets will not redistribute land
The price of land in the market reflects:
Income stream from agriculture
Plus value as asset, hedge against inflation
Small farmers can only afford to pay the agricultural value
So will be outbid in the land market by the rich
Need to remove all distortions favoring large farmers
Need subsidies for the poor
Need a progressive land tax

5. Goals of land reform Reducing poverty Expanding the rural areas
Returning land to its previous owners

6. Land ownership and Tenure
Right of disposition over land.
The right to use the land

7. Types of land ownership
State ownership of land
Collective and communal ownership
Private ownership of land
Farm tenancy
Occupational tenancy
Cash tenancy
Rent in kind
Share tenancy

8. The Agricultural Commercial Land Reform Act of 1995
The 1995 Act describes Namibia’s agricultural land for reform to include:
Land situated in local authority areas
Land situated n settlement areas
Land of which the state is the owner.

9. Land Reform Commission
Section 2 of the Act established a commission and this commission's functions are to:
Advise Minister on land acquisition and redistribution.
Investigate matters relating to the exercise of powers by the minster on land acquisition and redistribution.

10. Land Acquisition: the menu
“Willing buyer, willing seller”
Government buys farms at market prices from willing sellers
Compulsory acquisition
Government expropriates farms
“Market-assisted”
Beneficiaries purchase land themselves with subsidies
Negotiated transfers
Government and land owners strike a deal

11. Willing buyer, willing seller
Pro’s:
Government has “right of first refusal” for every farm that comes on the market
No loss of investor confidence
Con’s:
Some sales will be masked (shareholders of closed corporation change, but not title deed)
Government ends up with title deed

12. Compulsory acquisition
Pro’s:
Planning advantage (e.g. Kenya 1960s)
Con’s:
Costly, slow
Uncertainty if not transparent
Coordination problems:
Farm assets need immediate protection
Need to select beneficiaries in advance or very quickly

13. “Market-assisted”
“community-driven”, grants to beneficiaries for purchase
Pro’s:
Flexible, can be fast
Beneficiaries: self-selected
Title deed goes directly to beneficiaries
Less uncertainty
Con’s
Need restructured land market
Can drive up land prices, so need a land tax

14. Negotiated land transfers
Negotiation/arbitration between Government and farmers
National
Local
Pro’s:
stakeholders’ partnership
not confrontational
“settle out of court”
Con’s:
Special projects, difficult to scale-up

15. Support to Land Reform in Namibia (SLR)
Project Objectives
Overall Objective
Project in Brief
Project title: Support to Land Reform
Project partner:    
Ministry of Lands and Resettlement (MLR)
Timeframe:      
Planned Duration: 01/03 – 09/13
Duration Phase III: 02/10 – 09/13
Contribution to Phase III: € 5,5 Mio.
Contact: Team Leader: Christian Graefen
Capacity development for key stakeholders
of land reform
Improvement of legal framework conditions for secure land use in communal areas and equitable access to land in commercial areas
Development of strategies and policy recommendations
for land reform
Conceptualization and coordination of a constitutionally implemented land reform

16. Support to Land Reform in Namibia (SLR)
Results: What has been achieved so far
Component 1
Component 2
Component 3
Development of strategies
and policy recommendations
for land reform
Capacity development for
key stakeholders of land reform
Conceptualization &
coordination of a constitutionally implemented land reform
A Land Reform Action Plan provides a coherent national strategy for land reform that ensures full transparency of land reform targets and process as well as buy- in from all relevant political stakeholders, the Namibian public and the donor community.
Implementation of land reform is “on target” with a total of 6,7 Mio ha of land redistributed which equals 45% of the target.
Under the policy leadership of the MLR, Communal Land Boards have been capacitated to competently implement land registration (22,000 titles issued; 10,000 or 45% women as beneficiaries) and resolve land disputes and conflicts (185 out of 188 claims resolved).
Namibian University of Science and Technology (Polytechnic) enabled to build national training capacities through a MSc Program on Land Management (with presently 22 students).
Innovative approaches (as concerted effort of GIZ, KfW, EC) allow for efficient land verification and registration; a mentorship program for post-settlement support (with 37 mentors and 1700 mentees).
Revised national land tax system based on legally confirmed land valuation criteria provides N$ 33 Mio taxes p.a. that are dedicated to land reform / acquisition.

17. Conclusions
Strong case for land redistribution: equity, efficiency, peace
But land and other markets are often biased against small farmers
Menu of options (compulsory acquisition, negotiation, market-assisted)
Sense of urgency: beware of forces stalling reforms until it is too late…

18. Self improvement exercise.
READ unit 10 in your study guide as well including all the activities.
READ on page 177 of study guide - Agricultural Land reform Act
Familiarise yourself with debates for and against land reform
Do you agree with the Namibian land reform challenges?
Suggest others?