The country’s Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET) and Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (CEPA) have urged the nation’s leadership to quickly enact land laws in a bid to safeguard the citizenry welfare from any exploitation that might come in the course of implementing The G7 New Alliance.
The two organizations have joined Landnet Malawi which has been advocating for 13 years on the enactment of land laws including land, customary, registered land and physical planning bills as uncertainties liger in many people’s hearts as to when the country’s land laws will be in place aimed at protecting the current trend of land grabbing leaving locals homeless and destitute.
The incomplete land legislations especially customary land bill which its absence is the cause of victimization of women failure to access land resources, has given a reel way to misguided individuals, politicians and investors to take advantage of the situation to connive with District
Commissioners (DC) and Traditional Authority (T.As).
They pocket huge sum of money in dubious transactions to acquire land without formally consulting their subjects who have resisted such pressure resulting into chieftaincy wrangle, fights, displacement, demonstrations, petitions, courts injunction and deaths hindering community developmental projects to take its course.
Despite such a rope hole in land laws, Malawi government has committed to the execution of The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, an initiative launched in 2012 by what was then the G8, now the G7 (following the imposition of sanctions against Russia) which seeks to attract new investment in African agriculture where large pieces of land is required.
This is a reason CISANET in conjunction with CEPA, Concern Universal and Christian Aid have come up with a comprehensive report of assessing the initiative if indeed will reduce hunger and poverty in Malawi for about 1.7 people by 2022.
When presenting the report titled, “Can the G7 New Alliance reduce hunger and poverty in Malawi” to the nation through a news conference on Tuesday, August 11, 2015 in the capital Lilongwe, CISANET and CEPA welcomed the country’s leadership in committing its self into the initiative which aims to promote ‘value chains’, the goods and services needed to get
agricultural products from farm to customers, which offer market opportunities to commercially-oriented smallholder farmers.
But the two institutions through Tamani Nkhono Mvula and a Mr. Chadha, Executive Directors of CISANET and CEPA respectively, emphasized the need for the country’s leadership to put in place mechanisms which will caution any challenge that come with the initiative by among others quickly enacting land laws which are integral part for the implementation of the program as will require large pieces of land for bigger investments.
“In joining the New Alliance, the Government of Malawi has committed to create a competitive environment with reduced risk in doing business for private sector investments in various value chains related to food security and nutrition, while also ensuring consistency and coherence in policies, improving access to land, water and basic infrastructure to support food security and
nutrition, and reorganize extension services, targeting nutrition, agribusiness and cooperative programmes focusing on priority crops in their primary growing areas.
“In view of the findings in the report, to achieve their New Alliance objectives of a reduction in poverty and hunger, we urge the government of Malawi and donors to work with smallholder farmers and civil society to improve consultation mechanisms to allow for the full, informed and
effective participation of civil society and farmer Organisations in the development, monitoring and implementation of government policies related to agriculture production, investment and marketing, including those prioritized under the New Alliance.
“Government should prioritize initiatives and policies that benefit smallholder farmers in all future agriculture policies. These need to focus on local and domestic market development, and include scaling up conservation agriculture, small-scale irrigation, and increasing land tenure rights and the right to use, save and exchange farm-bred seeds.
Implement the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests through targeted initiatives and developing monitoring indicators in the New Alliance framework, going beyond the current ‘intensions’ clause.
“There should be scaling up the provision of services and programmes that build the resilience of Malawi’s smallholder farmers, and integrate these into Malawi’s agricultural development strategies, and requires companies who sign Letters of Intent to report on the quality of
jobs, risk-sharing strategies, environmental impact and direct food security franked by Chadza impact of their investments under the New Alliance framework. And ensure that clear transparency and accountability measures are in place so that companies are prioritizing the needs of smallholder farmers”, recommends Tamani Nkhono
