Recent increases in the level of agricultural commodity prices and the resulting demand for land has been accompanied by a rising interest in acquiring agricultural land by investors. This paper studies the determinants of foreign land acquisition for large-scale agriculture.

With the introduction of rural reforms in the early 1980s, China broke with its
collectivist past and began the arduous transition from a centrally planned to a free
market economy. The People’s Communes – the institutional basis of
agriculture under Mao – were disbanded, and communal land was
redistributed to users through a family-based ‘Household Contract
Responsibility System’ (HCRS), which offered farmers more managerial

Land degradation is a serious problem in Sub-Saharan Africa, where up to two-thirds of the productive land area is reported to be degraded to some extent.  Local communities suffer the most from the degradation of their land and they are therefore fundamental to the widespread adoption of sustainable land management (SLM) techniques.

This discussion paper asses possible feedbacks between the type of land use and harvest intensity and climate.

This paper looks at the role of market imperfections in explaining leasing behaviour of households using sample data from the Highlands of Eritrea. It looks at the tenancy or land rental market, the position of households in that market (as landlords, tenants or non-participants) and assesses the transaction costs related to the adjustment process in the tenancy market.The paper tests for fixed and variable transaction costs related to adjustment in the land rental market. A two-stage approach for participation in the market as landlords or tenants is used for this.

This article discusses the case for an international treaty on animal genetic resources, confirming that one-third of the world’s livestock breeds are now endangered.

How Africans access – or ‘own’ – their landholdings is a matter of profound importance for the continent’s future. It touches on social welfare as well as prospects for economic development. This policy briefing provides an overview of the land question, drawing heavily on the Country Review Reports (CRRs) of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). It argues that weak property rights are a major problem for Africa, but cautions against an assumption that full titling is an immediate solution.

Tries to understand the case for redistributive land reforms. Argues that there is relatively persuasive evidence showing that redistributing land may promote equity as well as efficiency. Suggest that it is, nevertheless, unclear, given that all forms of redistribution cost money as well as bureaucratic and political capital, that redistributing land is the best way to redistribute.The second part of the paper takes as given that policymakers want to redistribute land, and discusses strategies for achieving such redistribution.

This paper summarises the findings of a short exercise to identify land issues in present-day Afghanistan.

Tenure and claims over forests and land are highly contested throughout Asia where states retain full ownership of land. Competition for land for investment, resource extraction, and conservation is becoming more common. The conflict takes place between local communities and indigenous peoples and external Government agencies and developers. This paper sheds light on how conflict begins, how it affects actors involved and how it can be successfully managed.

This paper represents a provisional attempt to assess whether Zimbabwe’s land reform coherently addresses the issue of poverty reduction. It examines the short-term outcome(s) of the reform programme in relation to its initial objectives. More specifically, it examines its impact on farm-workers. The majority of farm workers lost jobs in the process as well as access to housing and social services such as health care and schools.

Aims to estimate the annual direct use value of an average hectare of the communal rangeland in Botswana, based on an anlalysis of secondary data. Exercise incorporates the three major direft uses, both marketed and non-marketed, of rangelands: livestock, wildlife and gathering