In line with the conventional view that customary land rights impede agricultural development, the traditional tenure system in Nigeria has been perceived to obstruct the achievement of efficient development and agricultural transformation. This led to the Land Use Act (LUA) of 1978.
Food First Backgrounder, Spring 2014, Vol. 20, No. 1
Introduction: Land, Race and the Agrarian Crisis
The disastrous effects of widespread land grabbing and land concentration sweeping the globe do not affect all farmers equally. The degree of vulnerability to these threats is highest for smallholders, women and people of color—the ones who grow, harvest, process and prepare most of the world’s food.
At the turn of the 21st century, farmland was still considered an investment backwater by most of the financial sector. Although some insurance companies have had farmland holdings for years, most financial investors found farmland, and agricultural investment in general, unappealing compared to the much higher returns to be made in financial markets.
Introduction: Farmland, A Safe Investment in Troubling Financial Times
Friends of the Earth’s report, ‘What’s your pension funding? How UK institutional investors finance the global land grab’, highlights the investments of UK institutional investors, such as British Airways Pension Fund, Legal & General and Standard Life, in companies accused of grabbing land, destroying the environment, and undermining sustainable livelihoods.
This briefing paper makes the case for proactive business engagement in respecting land rights and ensuring legal, fair and inclusive practices on land use, access to natural resources and equitable development opportunities. It outlines key challenges, provides an overview of existing instruments that can help companies address issues related to land, and points to practical entry points for improved business practices.
Property taxation has a long history of implementation in Dar es Salaam; yet Local Government Authorities (LGAs) ability to raise revenue through property tax has remained low. This article examines various initiatives by the government to develop a functional property tax system capable of generating sufficient revenue for the LGAs. It observes that while there have been efforts to develop the capacity of LGAs in exploiting the property tax revenue source, the tax base coverage and revenue collection levels are still critical, calling for more attention.
La obra jurídica elaborada por María Clara Galvis Patiño y Ángela María Ramírez Rincón sistematiza y analiza decisiones judiciales de altas cortes de nueve países de América Latina: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panamá y Perú.
El citado Digesto refleja los debates y problemas jurídicos que han tenido que resolver los jueces ante el alto número de conflictos sociales relacionados con la propiedad de la tierra, el territorio y los recursos naturales de los pueblos indígenas.
The financial and economic crisis that
started in the United States has finally impacted all urban
communities and investment financing systems around the
world. Local governments grappling with the crisis face a
number of constraints which, though disparate in nature,
have a cumulative effect. This phenomenon has created a
number of extremely difficult situations. In general terms,
the consequences of the crisis can be felt on four levels:
A decade ago in Mozambique, a stakeholder workshop where the need to improve access to industrial and commercial land as a means to encourage investment was a topic of discussion, a government official came up to. In order to create new jobs, generate more income, and modernize the economy, many countries see an urgent need to encourage industrial and commercial investment, both domestic and foreign. However, investment in many sectors cannot take place unless land, along with other basic factors of production, is available.
Many key development outcomes depend on
women's ability to negotiate favorable intrahousehold
allocations of resources. Yet it has been difficult to
clearly identify which policies can increase women's
bargaining power and result in better outcomes. This paper
reviews both the analytical frameworks and the empirical
evidence on the importance of women's bargaining power.
It argues that there is sufficient evidence from rigorous
Around the world, in both developed and
developing countries, policy makers use a variety of tools
to manage and accommodate urban growth and redevelopment.
Government officials have three main concerns in terms of
land policy: (i) accommodating urban expansion, (ii)
providing infrastructure, and (iii) managing density.
Together, the planning for infrastructure and urban
expansion, land use, and density policies combine to shape
Please find here the report of the online discussion facilitated by Ekta Parishad on the land portal in December 2012 : Is the right to land for shelter a human right? Many thanks to all of the participants for their very interesting inputs, which will contribute to the ongoing negociations with the indian government.
Special thanks to Dominik Pauli for his great support and commitment.