[Source: Daily Nation, by Macharia Mwangi]
Experts in the agricultural sector have attributed the decline in food production to skewed land ownership especially in the African continent.
Giving a keynote address during a workshop at a Naivasha hotel on Monday, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Representative to Kenya, Dr Tobias Takavarasha said women were disadvantaged in terms of land ownership.
Statistics, he told participants, showed that where women owned land, there was significant increase in productivity, especially in rural areas.
“Problem of land access in Africa among women is almost universal and the African Union through the Land Governance Commission is trying to address some of the issues,” noted Mr Takavarasha.
He said for the country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, there was a need to ensure a fair and improved land access by women.
With more women, owning land, Mr Takavarasha explained they had greater capacity to improve incomes and support livelihood compared to their male counterparts.
“From the cultural background to policies, women have been greatly disadvantaged in terms of land ownership and there is a need to address the anomaly,” he observed.
Prof James Tuitoek, a commissioner at National Land Commission (NLC) said only one per cent of women owned land according to a research done by Action Aid.
“There is a need to come up with policies that are favourable to women in terms of land ownership and also ensuring that they are not disinherited,” noted Mr Tuitoek.
He called for a culture change to guarantee women on land inheritance, saying the commission was keen in protecting the rights of the underprivileged lot.
He, however, acknowledged that competition for land use was a threat to food production, with urbanisation encroaching on highly productive land across the country.
To stem the tide, Mr Tuitoek said the commission had completed studies on the effect of land fragmentation on food security, with the report yet to be made public.
Speaking on the sidelines, Action Aid official, Kitasi Wanga called on the review of the redistribution of land to ensure women owned land jointly or individually.
[Full article: Daily Nation, by Macharia Mwangi]
