Africa's Land Crisis Sparks High-Stakes Summit to Combat Fraud and Restore Trust
A major summit aimed at tackling fraud and restoring trust in Africa's agricultural land sector will take place in February 2026. The African Agro-Real Estate Development Summit (AAREDS) will bring together policymakers, investors, and traditional leaders to address unregulated schemes, speculative land banking, and outright fraud plaguing the industry. Scheduled for 7 February 2026 at the Balmoral Hall, Sheraton Lagos, the event is positioned as a decisive intervention rather than just another conference.
Agricultural land in Africa holds vast potential for food security, youth employment, climate resilience, and foreign investment. Yet, poorly structured projects and fraudulent models have damaged investor confidence, creating a credibility crisis. AAREDS will confront these challenges directly by establishing investor protection frameworks, legitimacy standards, due diligence benchmarks, and governance structures to safeguard capital.
The summit will examine how agro-smart city development—linking housing, farming, processing, and export value chains—can be executed responsibly. Traditional leaders will also contribute, ensuring customary land ownership aligns with modern agro-real estate frameworks. By fostering collaboration between institutions, policymakers, and industry experts, AAREDS aims to replace unstructured practices with transparent, scalable, and bankable development models.
Unlike typical conferences, AAREDS is designed as a market-correcting intervention, focusing on structured financing, regulation, and responsible scaling of agricultural land projects across the continent.
AAREDS seeks to end unregulated agro-real estate practices by promoting accountability, transparency, and sustainable investment. The outcomes are expected to influence land governance, investor protection, and integrated development models in Africa's agricultural sector. The summit's recommendations will shape policies aimed at balancing economic growth with responsible land use.
