Tag: Research

Uncovering Land Governance Challenges in 9 African Countries: NELGA’s Overview of Pastoralism and Small-Scale Farming

NELGA has put out nine country profiles about South Sudan, South Africa, Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Egypt, and Mauritania. These profiles give information about pastoralism and small-scale agriculture in these countries. Through research on the current state of land governance in each of these nations, the individual reports have identified policy gaps that could be amended to better support pastoralism and small-scale agriculture.

The profiles also emphasised the significance of regional and international cooperation throughout Africa to enhance land governance structures tailored to local communities’ needs. The profiles included an assessment of existing research on the topics; the effects of climate change; public policy in place to support pastoralism and small-scale farming; the role of women and young people in this space; and regional and international cooperation available to support respective countries. The individual country profiles make recommendations for improving land governance in each country.

NELGA hopes that these reports will help the government improve the way it manages resources while making sure that rights over resources are kept, and international standards are always followed. NELGA keeps working with its African partners to improve how land is managed in all countries involved.

Click here to read the country profiles: link.


NELGA Researchers in Southern Africa Master the Art of Scientific Writing

Scientific writing is important in the development of academia and academic institutions. It is a challenge for postgraduate students and lecturers (supervisors) to write scientific papers, especially for publication in high impact scientific journals. Academics and postgraduate students have found it difficult to develop their scientific writing skills to meet the publication requirements of high impact journals. Lecturers who supervise postgraduate candidates face the daunting task of transferring quality scientific writing skills to the students since writing at postgraduate level is complex. Therefore, strengthening the capacity of lecturers to transfer scientific writing skills effectively improves graduation rates and academic publications.

In an attempt to a Scientific Writers’ workshop was held back in October 2022 at Chaminuka Lodge and Nature Reserves in Lusaka, Zambia. The objectives of the workshop are as follows; i) Improve the quality of scientific writing skills. ii) Assist early researchers working on scientific papers to produce publishable papers. iii) Increase research collaboration among NELGA member Universities and iv) Strengthen research supervision and mentorship skills of academic staff supervising postgraduate students.

The Workshop was a collaboration among Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST), Network for Land Governance in Africa (NELGA), University of Zambia, and sponsored by GIZ. The University of Zambia hosted the workshop, facilitated by four consultants: Professor Chigbu (Namibia), Professor Chakwizira (South Africa), Dr Pamela Duran Diaz (Germany), and Dr Chavunduka (Zimbabwe).  The consultants led each of the sessions that focused on a specific aspect of scientific writing. The areas covered included: H-index and Social Impact factors in scientific academic publication; Strategies of scientific writing skills; Comparing different styles of scientific writing; Conducting effective literature review; Writing scientific articles; Publishing articles in high-ranking journals; Strategies of scientific writing skills; Comparing different styles of scientific writing; Tips on PhD Discourse.

Ten (10) PhD students and one (1) Masters Student registered at various universities also presented summaries of their research papers. Supervisors gave feedback to the students and identified areas of improvement. The main outputs of the workshop included the identification of the members of team to spearhead the development of a scientific writer’/supervisors’ manual. Secondly, the submission of abstracts from each of the participants as a contribution as a chapter a book that will be edited and published.


Land Stakeholders Chart Course on Land Transformation in Ghana

From the 6th to the 9th of December, land stakeholders in Ghana will convene at the 2022 National Land Conference to institutionalize a structured arrangement for multi-stakeholder participation in the transformation of the land sector in Ghana.

The conference was organised under the theme – Leveraging National Land Policy, Legislation and institutional Capacity Towards Sustainable Socio-Economic Development by the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources and COLANDEF with the support of the German Development Cooperation, NELGA and other partners.

The conference creates the platform to discuss policy options and experiences, present new research and scalable innovations, foster high-level support and ownership of interventions to tackle land governance, and empower and develop the capacities of the land sector stakeholders. The Conference will establish a multi-stakeholder platform that will monitor the implementation of the conference’s recommendations, including the implementation of Ghana’s new national land policy and provide support for improving land governance and land administration in the country on a sustainable basis.

Click here to read more about the conference.


Call for applications for research fellowships under the “Network of Excellence for Land Governance in Africa (NELGA)” during the COVID-19 crisis.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has forced the world into action. The measures taken to contain the virus have impacted the whole of society, including the education sector, with research becoming more important than ever. To help investigating how COVID-19 and related measures potentially affect housing, land, and property rights in African countries, and to deliver high-quality research on the COVID 19 implications for land governance institutions and systems in the long-term, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) offers support for special research fellowships under the “Network of Excellence for Land Governance in Africa (NELGA)” in the form of desk studies.

Applications for the NELGA research fellowships may be submitted throughout the year. For this specialized call we invite you to apply before the 15th of June 2020. The fellowship will be awarded for August 2020.

Download Application proceedures in English or French for more details.


Call for applications for research fellowships under the “Network of Excellence for Land Governance in Africa (NELGA)” during the COVID-19 crisis.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has forced the world into action. The measures taken to contain the virus have impacted the whole of society, including the education sector, with research becoming more important than ever. To help investigating how COVID-19 and related measures potentially affect housing, land, and property rights in African countries, and to deliver high-quality research on the COVID 19 implications for land governance institutions and systems in the long-term, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) offers support for special research fellowships under the “Network of Excellence for Land Governance in Africa (NELGA)” in the form of desk studies.

Applications for the NELGA research fellowships may be submitted throughout the year. For this specialized call we invite you to apply before the 15th of June 2020. The fellowship will be awarded for August 2020.

Download Application proceedures in English or French for more details.