Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso will head a high-level South African delegation to Cartagena, Colombia, for the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD+20), taking place from 24 to 28 February 2026.
The ICARRD+20 summit marks two decades since the inaugural conference held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and comes amid renewed global attention on agrarian reform, food sovereignty and democratic governance of natural resources.
The gathering will bring together governments, social movements and international organisations to address challenges such as land and water grabbing, climate vulnerability and the need for redistributive land reform.
During the conference, Nyhontso is expected to hold a series of high-level bilateral engagements, including consultations with the Food and Agriculture Organization on the launch of the Global Land Observatory and enhanced cooperation on rural development initiatives.
He will also meet leaders from Brazil and other countries confronting similar land governance and agrarian justice concerns.
The Minister is further scheduled to participate in ministerial sessions examining the role of agrarian reform in promoting peace, democracy and equitable development.
The South African delegation includes members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Land Reform and Rural Development, alongside senior departmental officials.
Key sessions at the summit include the Inaugural Plenary titled “Earth: past, present and future: the struggle of the peoples for Agrarian Reform”, thematic discussions on the geopolitics of land, oil and mineral resources, and the “10 years for Agrarian Reform” plenary aimed at securing global commitments for structural transformation.
The department described the conference as a strategic platform to advance Africa’s land governance priorities and dignified rural livelihoods within the global agenda.