The African Land Policy Centre (ALPC) is implementing a project aimed at strengthening land governance in Africa with targeted interventions in i) curricula development; and ii) training programmes on land governance; iii) research and knowledge exchange; iv) policy dialogue and
advocacy to support reforms in the land sector. The project is supported by the German government through a financing agreement with the technical support of GIZ. Learning institutions, which produce land professionals, are at the core of capacity development. The NELGA nodes are expected to play an important role in the development and improvement of land related curricula in graduate and postgraduate training courses. The NELGA nodes are Central Africa (Yaoundé 1 University, Cameroun); Eastern Africa (Ardhi University, Tanzania); Northern Africa (Institut Agronomique et Veterinaire Hassan II, Morocco); Southern Africa (Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia); and West Africa (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana); University of Western Cape (PLAAS) as the Technical Node and St Louis, Gaston Berger (Senegal) to coordinate the French speaking countries in West Africa.
The AU has consistently acknowledged the urgency of addressing these disparities. In 2009, the AU Heads of State and Government adopted the Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa, which set the foundation for a coordinated continental agenda to improve land governance. This declaration explicitly called for strengthened efforts to secure women’s land rights. Subsequent AU policy organs have reinforced this commitment, particularly through the Nairobi Action Plan on Large-Scale Land-Based Investments (2010) and the 2015 decision encouraging 30% allocation and documentation of land for women. These policy milestones are the result of multi-stakeholder consultations, evidence building, and advocacy championed by the Africa Land Policy Centre (ALPC).
Recognizing the complexity of the contemporary land governance industry, ALPC undertook research to determine gaps in the training of land professionals. The research findings revealed that although the curricula currently used for training land professionals have served the continent well thus far, there are gaps that need to be filled in order to address the complex land tenure systems on the continent and the growing calls by industry for relevance and appropriateness. As a result, ALPC has developed the Guidelines for the Development of Curricula on Land Governance in Africa to support Curricula review on land governance in Africa.
The AU Guidelines for Curricula Development on Land Governance in Africa are meant to facilitate development and review of curricula to ensure that university graduates and land professionals are better skilled to address Africa's land governance challenges. In particular, it is
envisaged that land professionals will be trained to better understand traditional land governance systems through which over 80% of Africa's land is managed, and the political dimensions of land governance that influence Africa’s ability to find solutions to underlying and emerging land governance issues. It is envisaged that the guidelines will offer insights for curricula that equip students with knowledge of these issues, as well as others outlined in the Guidelines, and the processes/environment surrounding strategic decisions in the realms of policy development and implementation.
ALPC received a request from the University of Embu in Kenya for technical assistance in developing a curriculum on land governance. It is in this regard that the ALPC will convene an Inception Meeting at the University to establish a shared understanding among all key stakeholders about the project’s goals, scope, and deliverables, thereby setting a foundational agreement for successful implementation and providing a basis for the subsequent inception report. The meeting will ensure everyone is aligned before work begins, facilitating clear communication, defining roles, and creating a framework for project success.