(Ecofin Agency) - To insure food security in Gabon, boosting access to land is a must. This was one of the main recommendations that emerged from the conference on agriculture held from June 28 to July 1, in Libreville.

It was in this framework that the government decided to identify all agricultural lands in order to secure and later make them accessible to farmers. However, prior to that, a law to restructure the land and agricultural legislation must be adopted, skills in the soil sciences sector must be strengthened, and the agricultural development agency will be created, amongst others.

Challenges related to land access are recurring especially under the Graine programme where, according to members of cooperatives, ancestral beliefs are preventing farms’ expansion and agriculture’s development. “For example, old villages are often areas of conflict as they host fruit trees, palm trees and sometimes even kapok trees. Due to this, it is quite difficult to develop these areas,” a local farmer said.

In a bid to revive its agriculture and end food dependence, Gabon has decided to distribute about five million hectares of arable lands to farmers across the country.

SeM