SADC Land Reform Support Facility (SLRSF) is established under the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Directorate. This follows Summit directive of 2001 for SADC Ministers of Lands to develop a strategy for land reform in the region. In August 2003 a proposal for the establishment of the SLRSF was approved by Council.

This is in recognition of the critical importance of land as a resource for economic development and poverty reduction and its critical role in achieving sustainable regional food security which is a priority intervention area in the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP).

Flier: The Establishment of the SADC Land Reform Support Facility

With the recruitment of a Facilitator in early September 2006, initial activities to operationalize the Facility commenced under the guidance of a SADC Task Team on the Land Reform Facility composed of senior officials from ministries responsible for land matters from five Member States. These Member States are Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe. These meet regularly to steer the establishment process. At the Meeting of Ministers responsible for land affairs on 27^th March 2008; a Steering Committee comprising Permanent Secretaries of Ministries responsible for land affairs was created to replace the Task Team and oversee the operations of the Facility

The SLRSF does not intend to develop or implement a regional land strategy. National Policies remain paramount and the facility will simply provide a resource for Member States to call upon when developing or implementing their land and agrarian reforms policies or programmes to address national development priorities.

Specifically, when fully established, the Facility will:

• provide technical support to Member States implementing land and agrarian reforms;
• mobilise financing and technical services of regional and international experts to support Member States implementing land and agrarian reforms;
• establish a regional land information resource including a website;
• strengthen the capacity of national agencies and civil society institutions in land and agrarian reforms; and,
• facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the states

Four main areas of focus will form the basis for outputs and activities of this programme:

• Policy Formulation and Implementation Support:

The Facility will mobilise expertise mainly from the region and financial resources from donor sources and pool them to assist SADC countries to review, formulate or reform their national land and agrarian policies.

• Capacity Building:

The main focus will be to build capacity in governments and civil society organisations involved in land issues. Training needs assessments, staff exchange/attachment programmes and direct training of personnel will be implemented at policy and technical levels, especially in land use planning, surveying, valuation, estate management and land law.

• Communication and Information Sharing:

Information generation and analysis through various ways including research and studies will be critical to the operation of the Facility. Information gathering/acquisition will be done at regional level through national nodes. The Facility will co-ordinate the documentation, management and dissemination and will establish mechanisms for information sharing and knowledge management.

• Research Studies:

In order to provide knowledge and analysis on land issues in the region, researches and consultant studies will be commissioned at country and regional levels, harnessing local technical skills and minimizing the use of external consultants.

How to Contact the Facility

More details can be obtained from the Facilitator at the following address:

Stephen Nanthambwe 
Facilitator – SADC LRSF 
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Directorate
2nd Floor (Rm. 212), Plot 116
Millennium Office Park, Kgale View
Private Bag 0095, Gaborone, BOTSWANA
Tel: +267 3951863 Ext. 5093
Fax: +267 3924099/ 3972848
Email: snanthambwe@sadc.int
Website: www.sadc.int

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