Uganda PM Urges Action to Secure Women’s Agricultural Land Rights

In a decisive call to action, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has urged stakeholders in Uganda’s land sector to actively implement the provisions of the National Land Policy (2013), with a special focus on securing equitable land ownership and tenure rights for women. Her remarks, delivered by Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development Judith Nabakooba, came during the second National Symposium on Land Governance held at Parliament on 27 June 2025.

Themed “Securing Women’s Agricultural Land Ownership: A Political and Development Imperative,” the symposium brought together lawmakers, policy experts, civil society organizations, and community leaders to address one of Uganda’s most pressing development issues—land rights for women in agriculture.

Policy Exists, But Implementation Gaps Persist

In her address, Prime Minister Nabbanja emphasized that while government investments in land registration and community sensitization have yielded progress, the implementation gap remains a major obstacle. Cultural norms, especially customary practices, continue to override statutory law, disenfranchising women, despite constitutional guarantees.

“We still see customary practices that override statutory laws and discriminate against women. We must ask ourselves what we are doing to dismantle the invisible barriers that deny women their rightful stake in the land they till,” Nabbanja stated.

She stressed that securing land rights for women is not just a policy necessity but a constitutional obligation and a development catalyst, especially in rural areas where women form the majority of smallholder farmers.

Gender-Responsive Reforms and Legal Literacy Needed

The Prime Minister outlined a roadmap that includes gender-responsive land registration, decentralizing and simplifying titling processes, strengthening legal literacy, and enhancing the role of land-support institutions to better serve women.

She also issued a powerful appeal to cultural institutions to evolve with the times, urging them to align traditional practices with constitutional values.

“Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 5—Zero Hunger and Gender Equality—cannot be achieved unless women have control over productive assets, especially land,” she declared.

Parliamentary and Civil Society Support

Hon. Christine Kaaya, Chairperson of the Uganda Parliamentarians Land Management Forum, emphasized the need for Parliament to actively participate in clearing the backlog of land advocacy and to integrate land governance into everyday legislative discourse.

“The debate on land governance should be on each and everyone’s agenda,” said Kaaya, also the Woman Representative for Kiboga District.

Meanwhile, Francis Odokorach, Country Director of Oxfam in Uganda, cited the glaring disparity in land ownership: though women constitute 70% of the agricultural workforce, only a small percentage hold land titles or decision-making power over land use.

“Without full control over land, sustainable development is not possible. This is not just about economics—it’s a question of justice, equity, and constitutional values,” Odokorach stressed.

He called for budget transparency to ensure gender priorities in land certification and urged the strengthening of Uganda’s land information systems to enable gender-based tracking and accountability.

Aligning Governance with Grassroots Realities

The symposium concluded with calls for robust policy implementation, community engagement, and enhanced institutional accountability. There was strong consensus that promoting women’s land rights is not only essential for food security and economic development but also central to democratic governance and social justice.

With Uganda’s agricultural future deeply intertwined with the empowerment of its women farmers, national actors are being called upon to act decisively—not only to bridge the policy-implementation gap but to transform the deeply ingrained socio-cultural norms that have historically restricted women’s land access.