FAO launches strategy for land tenure governance.

HYDERABAD -- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO) in collaboration with the government of Sindh launched the 'Strategy to Mainstream the Principles and Practices of Responsible Governance of Tenure in Legislation, Administration and Policies of the Land Sector in Sindh Province, Pakistan' in Karachi . The provincial strategy is part of FAO's project 'Improved Land Tenancy in Sindh', funded by the European Union.

The four year project aims to improve land tenure governance in the province, while promoting the adoption of climate-resilient agriculture techniques. Government officials, members from UN agencies, academia, research, and development partners attended the launch. Across Sindh, customary sharecropping arrangements on farms of various sizes have been challenged by weak governance of land tenure. There are difficulties in updating agreements that reflect changed climatic conditions and advanced agriculture production systems. The provincial strategy will provide recommendations to the government on land tenure governance, helping to reduce poverty and ensure food security in Sindh.

The strategy is based on a series of studies, extensive consultations and analysis of the current land tenure situation in Sindh. It also draws on the principles and recommendations in the internationally recognised Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, that were agreed in 2012 by the Committee on World...