Losamills Consult has said its bringing technology innovation to landmapping and surveying in West Africa, reports ITREALMS.
The firm also noted that about 90 per cent of rural land in Africa is not formally documented, making it vulnerable to land grabbing and expropriation. Weak property rights result in communal clashes and targeted killings, according to the CEO Samuel Larbi Darko.
"Only 4% of African countries have mapped private land in capital cities. This means most of the land is susceptible to vested interests from leaders and the urban elite; Land mapping and surveying is often overlooked, but much needed, in promoting development and stability in West Africa where a significant proportion of land remains informally documented; Losamills Consult is leveraging technology to reduce barriers to surveying and contribute to industrialisation and regional stability."
CEO Samuel Larbi Darko calls for greater government support in land demarcation and allocation systems to attract foreign investment.
Emerging technological breakthroughs in fields including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, nanotechnology and materials science are accelerating innovation and disrupting industries across the world. Indeed, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is creating new ways of catering to societal needs and improving the speed, quality and cost of delivering value. From self-driving cars and automated flight systems to navigation equipment and drones, societies and industries are going through a time of unprecedented technological change.
The land mapping and surveying sector, which serves engineering, infrastructure development and environmental conservation projects, is one such industry that has been transformed in the early days of the 4IR.
Modern instruments such as drones and GPS devices are simplifying the land-mapping process while improving accuracy, scope, and speed. Accurately determining land size and measurements, as well as topographic heights, is key to ensuring proper bounding, calculations, titles, easements and wildlife crossings when planning and designing new infrastructure, in construction, and in environmental monitoring. Undertaking this process at the outset saves money and time that is in many cases later spent correcting non-adherence to land zoning, overlays, building guidelines, town plans, and other local provisions. Defined property rights also foster growth and stability, stimulate access to credit and investment and drive productivity and income.
However, in Africa, about 90% of rural land is not formally documented, making it vulnerable to land grabbing and expropriation. Weak property rights also result in communal clashes and targeted killings. Similarly, only 4% of African countries have mapped private land in capital cities. This means most of the land is susceptible to vested interests from leaders and the urban elite.
Samuel Larbi Darko, the CEO of Losamills Consult, a privately-owned land surveying and engineering company based in Accra, Ghana, recognised the potential for the integration of high-level technology in infrastructure development in West Africa many years ago.
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