What is land, and to whom? – The need for development practitioners to widen their views of land

This post summarizes a blog post published on Land Portal and written by SweDev Steering Committee member, Linda Engström. In her blog, Engström reviews the book “Power, Knowledge, Land – Contested Ontologies of Land and Its Governance in Africa” by Laura A. German, which is a critical exploration of global land governance policies and their impacts on rural communities in Africa. German’s book highlights how well-intentioned policies often fail to protect marginalized groups, such as women and smallholder farmers, and instead exacerbate inequality.

Engström describes German’s focus on three central development agendas for rural Africa: i) formalizing customary land rights through registration and titling of land, ii) the importance of the participation of affected local communities through community consultations and iii) inclusive business. These policies are built on the assumption that securing land through formal titles or integrating smallholder farmers into global markets will foster equality and economic growth. However, German’s analysis, as detailed by Engström, reveals that these interventions frequently harm the very communities they aim to help.

In her blog post, Engström delves deeper into the theories of change underpinning the above-mentioned agendas. She highlights several key assumptions, including the notion that land is primarily an economic resource, that security in customary tenure systems is inherently weak, and that local communities have the power to influence decision-making processes. German challenges these ideas, showing how such assumptions overlook the realities of customary land systems, where land is viewed as a collective resource tied to identity, belonging, and intergenerational responsibilities. Overall, the message of the book is that “the assumptions underpinning such theories of change is often ignorant of, and even antagonistic to, the interests, needs, and visions of the proposed beneficiaries of this agenda: the rural communities themselves.”

Furthermore, the blog post highlights the book’s evidence that policies aimed at formalizing land ownership often result in land concentration among powerful actors, further marginalizing rural communities. This is particularly evident in cases of large-scale farmland investments, where land is commodified and transferred away from local users. Inclusion tends to be limited to wealthier local groups or projects supported by public funds. As land becomes alienable through formalization and treated as a commodity, it facilitates the capture of land by outsiders. This trend, Engström points out, allows wealthier populations to acquire more land, reinforcing the concentration of land ownership among the affluent.

In her reflections, Linda Engström suggests two approaches for improving land governance. The first is a revolutionary shift in development, focusing on understanding and respecting local perspectives, values and existing institutions to shape land policies. The second involves pragmatic adjustments, such as engaging community members with local knowledge, protecting land rights through existing institutions, and avoiding to perform land formalization in ways that could harm local communities.

Ultimately, Engström’s review of German’s book offers a powerful critique of current land governance approaches and a call to center local realities in global development strategies.