The importance of secure land rights for agrifood systems and rural livelihoods in NENA

For billions of people, land is a place for food to grow, a source of income, a home, a safety net and a foundation for community life. Land also carries cultural and social significance, connecting generations to landscapes and traditional ways of managing natural resources. Across the Near East and North Africa (NENA), agriculture, pastoralism and other rural livelihoods depend heavily on access to land and natural resources, and the security of land rights is closely linked to sustainable and resilient agrifood systems. However, being able to use land does not always mean having secure rights to it. Secure land rights are also an important foundation for greening agriculture and building more sustainable, resilient and inclusive agrifood systems.

Understanding land governance and tenure

Land governance refers to the broader systems in which decisions about land are made. It involves the laws, policies and institutions that manage land access, policy implementation and conflict management. Land tenure is the relationship between people and land. Land tenure systems determine who can access land, for how long, and under what conditions.

Tenure arrangements vary widely. Land may be privately owned, rented, publicly managed or held communally, with rights documented through formal systems or recognized through customary practices. Across NENA, different groups may also have rights to use the same land for different purposes. Farmers may cultivate crops in areas that pastoralists depend on for seasonal grazing and to access water, while other communities rely on forests and shared natural resources.

Access to land does not always guarantee secure rights, tenure security means feeling certain that, in the short, medium and long term, a right to land will not diminish, i.e., a farmer with private or lease rights to land is confident that those private or lease rights will remain for five, ten and fifty years, and beyond. Without this certainty, people may find it harder to plan for the future or maintain access to the resources their livelihoods depend on. Around 1.1 billion people worldwide believe they could lose some or all of their land or housing rights within the next five years. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) recorded the highest regional level of reported tenure insecurity, at 29 percent.

Security to invest, produce and adapt

For farmers, secure tenure can influence whether investing in their land makes sense in the long term. Actions like restoring soils, planting trees, improving irrigation and adopting more sustainable farming practices often require time and resources before benefits can be seen. Uncertainty over land rights can make such investments difficult to justify and thus hindering efforts to make agriculture greener and more sustainable.

Secure tenure can also help small-scale producers access credit, extension services, technologies and markets. Their contribution to food security is considerable: smallholder farmers with holdings of less than two hectares produce an estimated 35 percent of the world’s food while operating around 12 percent of agricultural land.

However, not everyone has the same rights to land. NENA is the region with the largest inequalities in access to land, with women representing only around 5 percent of agricultural landowners. Women often face restrictions arising from legislation, social norms or customary practices, while young people can struggle to access land when it is scarce, expensive or concentrated among fewer owners. These barriers can limit their economic opportunities and prospects for establishing sustainable livelihoods.

For pastoralists and other communities that depend on shared resources, secure tenure means being able to rely on access to grazing areas, seasonal migration routes, access corridors and water. Recognizing these rights is important not only for livelihoods, but also for managing competing land uses and supporting the sustainable use of natural resources.

Land rights shape rural livelihoods across NENA

Across NENA, access to land is closely linked to food production and rural livelihoods. Yet unclear rights, unequal access and competing claims can make it difficult for farmers, pastoralists and other land users to secure the resources they depend on.

In Greater Darfur, Sudan, land tenure has been closely linked to conflict and displacement for decades. An FAO project funded by the European Union worked with government institutions, customary authorities and communities to strengthen tenure governance. Through agricultural land registration, 12 334 household heads formally secured their tenure rights. The project also introduced community-based land-use planning to help manage competing claims and resolve disputes between agricultural and pastoral users, benefiting around 2 000 households.

In Mauritania, a recent FAO project supported by the German Government strengthened local and national mechanisms for dialogue and decision-making on pastoral land governance, with a focus on women and youth. One national multi-stakeholder platform was capacitated through five workshops, while support was provided to revitalize two local platforms in Kaédi and Boghé. A joint FAO–ENABEL workshop in May 2026 brought together 73 representatives from government, civil society, academia and socio-professional organizations. Women’s participation increased from 18 to 27 percent, while youth participation rose from 5 to 20 percent, demonstrating progress towards more inclusive land governance.

FAO supporting strong land governance and secure tenure rights

The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security in 2012, provide an internationally recognized framework for improving tenure governance. They promote responsible, equitable and transparent approaches and recognize the legitimate tenure rights of all people, including those whose rights are not formally documented.

FAO supports countries in strengthening land governance through policy development, improved land management, capacity development and multi-stakeholder dialogue. These approaches will be among the topics explored in Cairo on 4–5 November 2026 at the 2nd Edition of the Interregional Dialogues and Global Policy Solutions Forum for Family Farming: Innovations for Better Governance and Equitable Access to Land.

The forum will bring together participants to exchange experiences and explore practical approaches to improving land governance and access to land, with a focus on the needs of family farmers and small-scale food producers.

Read more:

• The status of land tenure and governance