The CAADP Pillar I Framework

Integrated use of water bodies, construction of dams for irrigation and/or generation ofelectricity has created surface water bodies and reservoirs, globally estimated to be 750,000km2. Current total aquaculture production from small water bodies could be 7 million tonnes per year,equivalent to 14 percent of total global production, according to FAO (2007). Riparian and privatecompany communities have utilised these water bodies by catching wild fish stocks, in the case ofLake Kariba, Cabora Bassa and Volta. Recently, aquaculture has emerged as the most popularmethod of raising fish in these water bodies, example of which are the intensive rearing of tilapia incages on Lake Kariba. Therefore, steps have been undertaken to reconcile water management forfish production. FAO and WARDA (2003) defined integrated irrigation and aquaculture as a strategyto achieve agricultural productivity while improving the financial sustainability of investments inirrigation. Thus, integrated irrigation and aquaculture were adopted as part of integrated inland waterresources management programmes aimed at contributing to improved food security in droughtproneWest African countries.2.3 Land administration and governanceLand lies at the heart of social, political and economic life in most of Africa. Land and naturalresources are key assets for economic growth and development. Most African economies continue torely heavily on agriculture and natural resources for a significant share of GDP, national food needs,employment and export revenue. At the same time agriculture, natural resource use and other landbasedactivities is a major key to livelihoods, income and employment of the majority of Africans, withland as the basis of shelter in urban and rural areas. Land also has major historical, cultural andspiritual significance.Although land may once have seemed an almost inexhaustible asset in Africa, population growth andmarket development are creating mounting pressure and competition for land resources, especiallyclose to towns and cities as well as in productive, high value areas. While Africa‘s predominantlycustomary land management systems are under pressure, formal land tenure and managementsystems introduced in the colonial period have generally very limited coverage. In practice, landrights claimed and allocated by the modern state often conflict with the land tenure practices ofordinary people. As a result, land tenure and shelter are insecure for many Africans in both urbanand rural areas, while weak and unclear property rights create a major obstacle to investment.In addition, land remains extremely inequitably distributed in the former white settler economies ofsouthern Africa, with the majority of rural people excluded from access to the most productive andvaluable land. Reliance on land as a principal source of livelihoods and as a basis for economicdevelopment in Africa is likely to persist for the foreseeable future. Reductions in poverty musttherefore build on the agricultural sector, while clearer structures of property rights can provide afoundation for structural transformation of Africa‘s economies, which in most cases will need to be ledprimarily by agriculture.Furthermore, where land has been inequitably distributed, more equitable patterns of land ownershipcan generate higher levels and broader based patterns of economic growth. The land problem is alsoposed in terms of strong national institutions able to undertake the development and theimplementation of consensual land policy implying all the actors and taking account of their concerns.Land policy therefore needs to secure the rights of all land users and serve the multiple goals ofequity, poverty reduction, income growth, economic efficiency and sustainable environmentalmanagement. Securing land holdings provides rural settlers with opportunities to enhance theirlivelihoods and reduce vulnerabilities, hence alleviating poverty, assuring the resilience of the localcommunity and improving the overall living standards. Securing land holdings has the potential ofincreasing revenues from property taxes and decreasing inflation by reviving dead capital.Land policy which recognises and guarantees property rights is essential for the effective use of landas a livelihood resource applicable to market transactions and the accessibility of credit to the poor.In this respect, innovative policy provisions that guarantee equal access to land resources arenecessary. This is particularly crucial in respect of the ability of women to acquire and hold landedproperty in their own right. The protection of property rights is also crucial with respect to theinheritance of land by women and the protection of the inheritance rights of children.15