ADDIS ABABA, (ECA)–The Second Conference on Land Policy in Africa opened in Addis Ababa Tuesday (Nov. 14) with a call for the continent to properly manage its land resources for the benefit of its current and future generations.
In opening remarks to the conference, ECA Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist, Mr. Abdalla Hamdok, said there was no doubt that good land governance was key to Africa’s transformation and central to livelihoods and sustainable development.
“Land forms the basis for agriculture, forestry, mining, industry, tourism and urban development. But to maximize on the benefits of land and its resources, inclusion of land users in decision making on how land is governed and managed is crucial,” said Mr. Hamdok.
He said equitable access and utilization of land and its resources was vital for sustainable economic growth, increased agricultural productivity and the development of a robust agribusiness on the continent.
Mr. Hamdok said the theme of the conference; “The Africa We Want: Achieving socioeconomic transformation through inclusive and equitable access to land by the youth”, is appropriate as it addresses an important concern related to the realization of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
“Africa is in a hopeful state not only because of its youthfulness but also due to the widespread discovery of land based resources,” highlighted Mr. Hamdok.
Resources
He explained that Africa is home to abundant natural resources accounting for at least 30 percent of the world’s natural resource wealth; 12 percent of oil reserves, 40 percent of global gold reserves, 60 percent of uncultivated land and 70 percent of coltan deposits, from which electronic microchips are made.
“The 420 million young people aged between 15-35 years can be gainfully involved in the exploitation of these resources, especially through agriculture, manufacturing and industrial sectors”, said Mr. Hamdok.
For his part, Ethiopia’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Minister, Eyasu Abraha Alle, said land is one of the major resources that Africa has in abundance and should be properly managed and used for the benefit of current and future generations.
“As agriculture is the mainstay of the majority of the population of Africa, its future development is heavily dependent on designing and implementation of appropriate land policy, land use plans and integrated natural resource management systems,” he said.
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See also:
- EVENT: Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA-2017)
- Ethiopia Launches National Employment Policy & Strategy
- Ethiopia’s Sacred Forests Are Shrinking. Can He Save Them?
- Land Restoration in Ethiopia: ‘This place was abandoned… This is incredible to me’
The African leaders should give special concern for the youth generation. Since most of the population of our nation is covered by the young stars. With out benefiting the youth in a good manner is impossible to think about the development of our nation.In my opinion this meeting is very important