Securing the right to land
The latest issue of Farming Matters on a topic that is central to all small-scale farmers: land. Competition for land and power, and particularly the global increase of large scale land acquisitions, cause contestations about which land is rightfully owned and used by whom.
This edition explores a range of responses by different stakeholders to land use in the face of an intensifying struggle for land. Using examples from all over the world, the land issue shows how both farmers’ initiatives and good land governance can have a positive impact on what seems to be an growing problem worldwide.
| | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
“Re-peasantisation” in ArapongaFarmers in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais have shown what a seemingly powerless group of sharecroppers and rural workers can do. |
“Communities are smart enough”In an interview with Farming Matters, Maididio Niasse, the director of the International Land Coalition, highlighted the importance of an open discussion and of sharing information. |
Knowledge management within IFADWorking together with representatives of four different IFAD-funded projects, ILEIA facilitated a documentation process in Uganda. |
The silent partners’ new voiceThe establishment of farmer co-operatives has had a positive impact in Nicaragua. Yet land ownership has generally been a prerequisite for joining agricultural co-operatives. |
Table of contents:
-
3 - 3For the majority of small-scale farmers and sharecroppers in Indonesia, the Green Revolution has caused a lot of suffering since it began in the 1970s.
-
5 - 5written by Edith van WalsumTwo hundred and twenty seven million hectares of land in developing countries – an area the size of Western Europe – has been sold or leased since 2001, mostly to international investors.
-
6 - 6Deadline: March 1st 2012
-
7 - 7
-
8 - 9written by Monique van ZijlDiscourses and approaches to land rights have a long and complicated history, as do the various social and political contexts in which these discussions take place. There are numerous drivers of the renewed contests for control over land. Recently, the convergence of crises in the supply of food, feed, fibre, and in the financial and energy sectors, have heightened the competition for land resources between groups with very different levels of power and influence. Land contestation is likely to increase exponentially in the coming years and will renew the urgency to both (re)frame questions of land rights and to consider new forms of resistance to land rights violations. This edition explores a range of responses by different people and organisations to ensuring land rights in the face of increased competition for land, which can only exacerbate the unresolved problems of poverty and food insecurity.
-
10 - 13Innovative policies in Brazil, such as the Zero Hunger Programme, have significantly reduced poverty in the past decade. Yet, land distribution remains a serious challenge: 46% of all land is controlled by 1% of the population. In Araponga, farmers have not only been able to acquire land: they have increased their options in a sustainable manner.
-
14 - 17written by Laura EggensInterview > Madiodio Niasse
-
18 - 20written by Budsuren Tumendemberel , Dorieke GoodijkWhat is the definition of a herder? Are you still a pastoralist if you move your ger (the herders' tent) only twice a year? And what if you start growing crops? With an increasing number of competing land claims, Mongolian herders are changing their lifestyles, and this is leading to their position in society being reconsidered. If existing regulations do not support them, should new ones be put in place?
-
21 - 21written by Robin PalmerMore and more organisations are showing what’s really happening, says Robin Palmer
-
22 - 23written by Jorge Chavez-Tafur , Ann TurinayoOver the past year ILEIA has contributed to the knowledge management activities of IFAD’s East and Southern Africa Division by facilitating a documentation process in Uganda. This involved representatives of four different projects, all of them interested in drawing out specific lessons from their work. In the words of Carole Idriss-Kanago, the Associate Country Programme Manager, this process has helped participants to “identify those points which make us special and value the importance of sharing them with others”.
-
24 - 26written by Thea HilhorstLand governance is the process by which decisions are made regarding access to and use of land and natural resources, the manner in which those decisions are implemented, and the way that conflicting interests are reconciled. In rural areas, informal processes managed by families or communities are often more important for accessing land than statutory law and processes; hence the need for supporting these existing systems. The growing demand for land also means an increasing role for local governments.
-
27 - 27written by Nicola PirasFor more than forty years, Landesa has been striving to secure land rights for the world’s poorest families. With headquarters in Seattle, Washington, its work is based on the firm belief that having legal rights to land is the first condition for prosperity. “We’ve learned”, explained Landesa’s CEO, Tim Hanstad, “that when a family has land of their own, they have the opportunity and the means to improve nutrition, income and shelter. We’ve seen that when land rights are secure, the cycle of poverty can be broken - for an individual, a family, a village, a community and entire countries.”
-
28 - 29written by Bed Prasad Khatiwada , Jagat DeujaLand is more than a production resource. In the rural areas of countries like Nepal it determines an individual’s socio-economic status, and is therefore strongly related to power issues. Landlessness and insecure land ownership are the major causes of poverty, social injustice and food insecurity. Tackling these issues therefore means influencing policies in favour of more land rights.
-
30 - 31Speciality crops for pacific islands / More on land grabbing
-
32 - 33written by Laura Eggens , Edith van WalsumTwenty years ago, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Many of the recommendations made in 1992 are still valid today. In June 2012 government delegations and numerous others will go to Rio again, to take stock of what has been achieved over the past twenty years and to address new challenges. All over the world preparations are already in full swing for the 2012 conference, “Rio+20”.
-
34 - 35Farmers’ access to land is greatly dependent on the laws and regulations on land ownership and land use in a country. But legislation is often not enough to ensure fair and equal distribution of property, whereby farmers can feel secure of their rights to the land they work. Here are some examples from different countries.
-
36 - 38written by Maille FaughnanEvidence suggests that foreign or private investments in land in Nicaragua have not occurred at the same rate as in other countries, but there are many competing claims to land. Coffee co-operatives have secured higher prices, helping vulnerable populations, but most co-operative members are men. Alternative approaches are helping those worst off: women farmers.
-
39 - 39written by Eric Holt-GiménezEric Holt-Gimenez argues that “Wall Street has been occupying our food system”
-
40 - 41written by Bertram ZagemaThe global food system is broken, according to Oxfam’s GROW campaign. Land grabs are a horrific symptom of this broken system. This is clearly presented in “Land and power: The growing scandal surrounding the new wave of investments in land”, the recently released Oxfam report.
-
42 - 85written by Gine ZwartThe enormous number of people living below the poverty line, the current food crisis and the land grabbing processes currently taking place throughout the world, show clearly that conventional economic wisdom does not always follow common sense. There are more than enough arguments for further developing the smart model of millions of small-scale farmers.
-
45 - 45written by Suprabha Seshan“Investments” in southern India have very negative consequences, says Suprabha Seshan
-
46 - 47Land can be seen as a farmer’s most precious resource, and access to land has been identified as a basic right. Ensuring these rights is particularly difficult at a time of climate, food, or economic crisis. What specific issues should be taken into account? Network colleagues shared some of their opinions.
Print this