OVER a decade-and-a-half, during 1975-1990, the world’s developing regions witnessed an increase of approximately 355 million in the agricultural population, while the arable area under production expanded by 46,5 million hectares.
In the latter half of the 1980s, the expansion of land for agriculture slowed down worldwide whereas the agricultural population rose slightly.
For Africa, however, the percentage increase in arable land, of 2,4 percent, was considerably less than the growth in the agricultural population of 11,4 percent.
The effect of this imbalance in growth resulted in the increased pressure on the land.
Thus, landlessness or neo-landlessness appears to be on the increase all over the world; in urban as well as in rural areas.
Statistics show that almost two-thirds of landless and neo-landless people live in Asia, as opposed to one-fifth in Africa and a 10th in Latin America.
In terms of percentage of agricultural people who are landless or neo-landless, Africa remains less affected, although it is estimated the increase in landlessness is actually highest on the continent.
‘Landlessness’, principally a phenomenon of the Asian countries, is defined as those agricultural workers who do not have access to this productive resource (land).
‘Neo-landlessness’ has been defined as “… access to pieces of land that are too small to provide a minimal livelihood under existing land-use patterns and technical capabilities.”
Land is usually defined in two basic ways; traditionally or non-traditionally (the latter is sometimes called the narrow definition of land).
The term ‘land’ traditionally involves a wider meaning and application as it includes the surface of the land (soil) and all other things on the soil that are considered to be part of the land by nature; such as rivers, streams, lakes, caves, rocks, creeks, mines and minerals, trees or by being unnaturally fixed to it like houses, buildings and any other structures.
It also includes any estate, interest or any other right over the land, for example, the right to collect herbs or to hunt.
With this definition, a person without physically owning a piece of land may have a right to claim interest over it.
The non-traditional definition of land may sometimes be referred to as the statutory definition of land. With this definition, a person who owns land does not own any minerals or petroleum existing there.
For this case, if it happens minerals or petroleum are discovered on one’s land, the holder shall be required compulsorily to transfer the land to the government as to give room for the mining industry.
Land is a major economic, political, social and cultural asset in Africa. Controlling land resources, nationally and/or locally is also a means to accumulate political, economic and social power.
Thus, land reform is a highly politicised process that can be seen as a threat to certain interests.
However, land reform can also be seen as an opportunity to change the socio-political relations, particularly with reference to inequality based on gender, race, group membership or age.
The need for land reform is widely acknowledged to address problems related to competing land rights and uses and the exploitation of economic opportunities associated with increasing land value or more productive land uses in both rural and urban settings.
All, however, have significant land dimensions which is one reason recent legal instruments for regional co-operation and integration refer to land issues and the importance of identifying regionally common principles for land tenure to address cross-border and inter-state land issues.
The governance of land is still strongly influenced by the colonial legacy and combines customary and statutory systems in order to govern ownership, access, control and use of natural resources, address conflicts and support agricultural development.
In Tanzania, even before independence, a number of policy instruments were used in an attempt to improve the land ownership regime in Tanganyika (now Tanzania).
In 1923 the land laws came into force; the British Colonial Legislative Assembly enacted the Land Ordinance cap 113 to guide and regulate land use and ownership in Tanganyika which was their colony.
Prior to this law, all the land in Tanganyika, as elsewhere in Africa, including Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia), was owned under customary tenure governed by clan and tribal traditions.
After the attainment of independence in 1961, Tanzania attempted another land reform. However, there were no major changes made to the previous reform.
The most (and only) notable change was the replacement of the word ‘governor’ with ‘president’.
Later, in order to avoid the creation of a small ‘landed class’, freehold titles were converted into leaseholds under the Freehold Titles and Government Lease Act (cap 523) of 1963.
Leaseholds were later changed into Right of Occupancy under the Government Leaseholds (conversion of right of occupancy) Act No. 44 of 1969.
Various laws and declarations were enacted during this period to reinforce decisions in land administration such as the Land Acquisition Act number 47 of 1967, which gave the president powers to acquire land in any part of the Republic of Tanzania for the national interest.
Other laws included under the 1967 Arusha Declaration were the Village and Ujamaa Village Act of 1975, the Land Regularisation Act of 1982, and the Local Government District Authorities Act number 7 of 1982.
All these laws had a bearing on the rights to land for the majority of small producers, even though they did not transform the land tenure system into a better system than previously the case.
Land reforms made during the 1990s marked a significant turning point in the development and administration of land tenure system in Tanzania.
However, National Land Policy of 1995 and the land acts of 1999, (Land Act Number 4 and Village Land Act Number 5) still gave the president powers to own land for the Government rather than decentralising it to the village assemblies and district councils — the lower structures that represented the people.
More recently, commercial interests to attract foreign investors are said to be the driving force behind recent land reforms, not only in Tanzania, but across the entire East African region.
Currently, title is vested in the president as trustee for, and on behalf of, all citizens of Tanzania, with regard to ownership, control and management of land in Tanzania.
Dr Michelina Rudo Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian researcher, industrial design consultant lecturer and specialist hospitality interior decorator. She is a published author in her field. For comments e-mail: linamanucci@gmail.com