Large-scale land acquisitions continues to displace millions of rural Africans from their homes, fields, forests and pastures. According to the Land Matrix report issued in April 2016, Africa is the most significantly targeted continent with 422 deals concluded, which amount to an alarming 42% of all deals registered by this source; this is 10 million hectares or 37% of the large-scale land acquisition they have registered worldwide.
In West Africa, a movement have sprung up under the umbrella of the Global Convergence for Land and Water. Farmers, pastoralists, NGOs, rural comunities, including women and youth, activists struggling against land grabbing have organised two caravanes between West African countries to defend their common agenda in every country, to meet with eachother, to exchange strategies of resistance and find solidarity.
During the last caravan in November 2018, the Catholic church started to get involved in some stretches of the route. Local churches and their leadership became aware of their responsibility to support and accompany this large social movement defending people’s rights to live in dignity. CIDSE played an important role in connecting people movements from all faiths to the catholic Church.