A note on food security and land tenure security in Lesotho

In this note of food security and land tenure security in Lesotho, the authors present arguments in favour of the enactment and implementation of a legislation in Lesotho that will enhance land tenure security in the country. Some of the arguments include:Tenure insecurity is not the primary constraint on the contribution that farming can make to food security in Lesotho, but:women’s access rights and widow’s tenure security are inadequatemore secure access to additional land for a minority of better-resourced and more-productive farmers could contribute more to aggregate food securityarable tenure security and land use are currently impaired by confused interim arrangements for land administration and land reform lawscommunity-based natural resource management structures need to be reinforced by clearer communal tenure security and administrative arrangements.Tenure insecurity is a primary constraint on the general economic growth in other, non-farm sectors on which food security in Lesotho increasingly depends:insecurity of urban and peri-urban land access and rights is a threat to food securitywomen’s insecure access to land in urban and peri-urban settings needs to be addressedthe economy cannot prosper and food security not assured, unless people can invest securely in land improvements and productive land usespolicies securing the land rights of the poor will become increasingly important with the increased mobilisation, specialisation and incorporation of rural areas into market economiesbank loans for investments require collateral underwritten by land tenure securityland disputes aggravates tenure insecurity of the landtenure security is inadequately protected by laws when people are deprived of their land by the state.The authors conclude that the enactment and implementation of this legislation will make an essential contribution to the nation’s food security.