Lunch lecture: Land governance, commercial land acquisition and rural development in Africa – some observations from the Great Lakes Region

LANDac and the Dutch Ministries of Economic Affairs and Foreign Affairs kindly invite you to a lunch lecture by Dr. Chris Huggins.

‘Land Governance, commercial land acquisition and rural development in Africa – some observations from the Great Lakes Region’

When: Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015 (12.00 – 12.30 hrs: sandwiches; 12.30 – 14.00 hrs: lecture followed by discussion)

Where: Ministry of Economic Affairs, Veegenszaal, Bezuidenhoutseweg 73, the Hague

This is a time of rapid change in the agricultural sector in Africa, with the so-called ‘global land grab’ taking place against the backdrop of an African Union-backed Land Policy Guidelines process, efforts to bring about a Green Revolution for Africa, and rumblings of military or socio-political conflict in many countries. The Great Lakes Region of Africa offers a set of useful comparisons in terms of land governance, dispute resolution, commercial acquisition of land, and national approaches to food security.

Based on numerous research visits to the region since 2003, this presentation will use the contrasting examples of Rwanda and the D.R. Congo to illustrate some of the key challenges facing African governments, investors and the development partners today.

Dr. Chris Huggins is a researcher, lecturer and trainer with more than 16 years experience on land and natural resources rights in Africa, particularly the political economy of land and agricultural reform in post-conflict contexts. Chris is now Postdoctoral researcher within LANDac.

Please register for this event by sending an e-mail before 30/1/2015 12.00 hrs to: gemma.verijdt@minbuza.nl;
When attending, please note you will need to bring your ID card in order to get access to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.