Context In most African countries, there is a high degree of competition over the use of land for different purposes (food, biofuels, etc.). Loss of land due to climate change (in the form of erosion) as well as large-scale land purchasing or leasing has increased pressure on agricultural areas. The interests of investors often clash with those of small-scale farmers, leading to negative consequences such as forced resettlement, malnutrition or violent conflicts. In order to guarantee the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and marginalised groups like ethnic minorities, reliable rights for the use of and the access to land are of key importance. In 2006, the African Union (AU) established the Land Policy Initiative (LPI), thereby placing emphasis on the urgency of improving land policies in a regional context. LPI supports global initiatives such as the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (RAI) and the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT). Although a growing number of countries show political will to realise these initiatives, their implementation at country level remains at an early stage. Many countries lack the human and institutional advisory capacities required to implement sustainable land policies. Objective The module objective of the global programme is: ‘Human and institutional capacities for realising sustainable land policies that pay particular attention to the rights of marginalised groups like small-scale farmers, pastoralists and women are strengthened.’ Approach The programme is part of the BMZ special initiative ‘One World, No Hunger’ and contributes directly to achieving the objectives under Action Area 6 (promoting responsible land use and improving access to land). It is thereby also making a significant contribution to improved global food security. The programme is active in the following areas: developing educational capacities within the land management and land policy sector in Africa, providing institutional and specialised support for LPI by establishing an African Centre of Excellence on Land Governance (ACELG) and a network for practice-oriented accompanying research in Africa with support from the World Bank for monitoring, evaluation and knowledge exchange regarding land policies. In terms of human resource development, the central focus is on training experts. At the institutional level, the programme is supporting LPI with regional networking activities by establishing the ACELG. Policy dialogue formats and the South-South exchange are being used at the AU level. The accompanying research programme, coordinated by the World Bank, is generating application-oriented findings and is feeding these into the policy dialogue. Results Thanks to the establishment LPI’s ACELG, there is now an efficient centre within the AU that provides independent advisory support and shares capacities and knowledge across the continent. Promoting continental networking will help to capitalise on the high degree of innovation potential at African partner universities. The cooperation arrangement with the World Bank is delivering cutting-edge knowledge generated by applied research on land issues, which drives the policy process forward.