Introduction

Malawi's journey towards effective land governance has been marred by historical injustices rooted in colonial legacies and compounded by contemporary challenges within customary land practices. This article explores the troubled legacy, policy reforms and the persistent issues within Malawi's land laws, shedding light on the intricate balance needed for meaningful change.

Troubling a Troubled Legacy

This blog post is part of the series What to Read. 

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In many countries men control who gets to use, own, and make decisions about land.

“We used to stay in a corner, quiet. If someone came to take our land or exploit our forests, we did not have the courage to try to stop them.” These words from a woman in Mecoburi, Mozambique reflect how women across the world often feel powerless to defend their rights to land and natural resources. For rural communities, land means everything, from the ability to produce crops for food and income to leveraging financial assets.

Advancing women’s land rights is a priority for the international development agenda. Yet, there is no consensus on which rights should be monitored and reported. Three indicators of women’s property rights are widely used in the literature. Each captures a different aspect of women’s land rights, but a recent paper explores the extent to which these different rights are held by the same person, using data from six African countries.

The distribution of land in Malawi is highly unequal and frequently inefficient. Large areas of land are underutilised in a context where many Malawian farmers would be able to put such land to productive use. In this context, the Malawian government has been slow and ineffective in undertaking land reforms, despite large demand for change both from investors and the local population.

Our sugar is made from sugarcane. And sugarcane is not planted in trees or in the air, it’s planted in the ground, in the soil, on land. It’s the bedrock of our investment.

—Illovo Land Champion

In recent years, numerous companies have made commitments to better recognize and respect land rights throughout their supply chains. Although making such commitments is a critical first step towards achieving more responsible investments, many companies still struggle with how to practically implement those commitments.

How do we make land-based agricultural investments more inclusive, particularly regarding land rights? This was the focus of the agenda as LEGEND held the 6^th UK Land Policy Forum on July 11 2018, with lively discussions from all involved – including government, DFIs, academics and land-related CSOs.