EU Land Policy and the Right to Food
In 2004 the EU Commission published EU
Land Policy Guide-lines: Guidelines for Support to Land Policy Design and
Land Policy Reform Process in Developing Countries. This document was drafted
by a task force comprising representatives of some EU member states and
independent experts, and was endorsed by the European Council and Parliament.
Although it is non-prescriptive, the document contains clear recommendations
to governments and donors engaged in land policy, which are geared towards
the defence and strengthening of small-scale family agriculture. It proposes
that steps be taken to allow the legal recognition of customary rights
and to strengthen the institutional capacities of customary structures
that enforce them.












