Urban Agriculture and Land Rights in Afghanistan – FSAC and HLP TF webinar
Channel: Global Protection Cluster GPC
Date: 2020-12-08

The Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (FSAC) and the Housing, Land and Property (HLP) Task Force in Afghanistan, hosted an inter-cluster webinar on urban agriculture and land rights in Afghanistan on Tuesday, 8th December 2020. 
Secure land rights are the foundation of social and economic equity and in countries such as Afghanistan interventions on land rights require a joined-up approach between legal and livelihood partners to ensure durable solutions that will enact meaningful change. Global best-practices show that when legal recognition of land and housing rights are combined with complementary investments in land, housing and infrastructure they lead to more secure rights for vulnerable groups over the long term.

Due in part to COVID-19 and seasonal labour changes, disruptions to livelihood profiles for people living in urban/peri-urban spaces are a reoccurring cause of vulnerability, and have effects on health, food security and intergenerational poverty.

Urban agriculture is particularly important for sustainable development as it builds on the skills and traditions of displaced groups, provides links to wider agricultural markets, and results in positive social outcomes. Promoting urban agriculture also addresses the issue of entrenched food insecurity in Afghanistan which has been steadily deteriorating over the past five years. 

This webinar looked at the intersection between Housing, Land and Property (HLP) and agriculture/livelihoods opportunities. More specifically, highlighting ways that investing in urban agriculture provides an opportunity to integrate HLP with food security and agriculture sector priorities for mutually beneficial outcomes. The webinar uses Afghanistan as a case study and also provide a broader understanding of urban agriculture and land rights at the global level.

See the joint publication - https://www.globalprotectioncluster.org/wp-content/uploads/HLP_FSAC_Urban_agriculture_brief.pdf