This Topic Guide is written for DFID staff, but is relevant to all development professionals. It comprises the following sections:

This case study has been produced in response to a request made to the Evidence on Demand Helpdesk. The objective of the request was to provide a detailed case study on the evolution of land policy in Mozambique and provide the reader with insights into what is viewed as one of Africa’s most progressive land laws, recognising multiple forms of tenure.

This case study has been produced in response to a request made to the Evidence on Demand Helpdesk. The objective of the request was to write a detailed case study on land tenure reform in a fragile and post-conflict state, Burma, and provide the reader with an understanding of how land tenure reform can work under the country’s particular social, political and economic conditions.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene can have a profound effect on health and nutrition. A growing base of evidence on the link between sanitation, child height, and well-being has come at an opportune time, when the issue of sanitation and nutrition in developing countries has moved to the top of the post-2015 development agenda.

The studies in this book sought to understand the factors affecting rural households’ choice of income strategies and land management practices and the implications of these decisions and of policy- and program-relevant factors for agricultural production, household welfare, and land degradation. We noted at the outset that the factors influencing these decisions and outcomes are many and complex and that their effects may be very context-dependent in a region as diverse as the East African highlands. The findings in the preceding chapters amply support this hypothesis.

Governments are devolving service and infrastructure provision, regulatory authority, and decisionmaking in many developing countries. Market reforms and structural adjustment policies devolve the provision of services and infrastructure to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), and the private sector (Farrington and Bebbington 1993; Uphoff 1993; Pender and Scherr 2002).

In this chapter we introduce the conceptual framework that underlies the case studies presented in this book and discuss hypotheses about the effects of key factors on community and household decisions concerning income strategies and land management. We also discuss the influence of such decisions on outcomes such as agricultural production, household income, and land degradation (or improvement). This chapter is adapted from Scherr et al. (1996); Pender, Place, and Ehui (1999); Pender, Scherr, and Durón (2001); and Nkonya et al. (2004).

How can family farmers best contribute to their country’s agriculture needs as well as broader development goals? First, we should determine which farmers can be profitable and assist them in doing so. Second, for those who aren’t profitable, we need to help them shift to other economic pursuits.

Common property resources1 are important sources of timber, fuelwood, and grazing land in developing countries. When community members have unrestricted access to the resource, or when use regulations are ineffective, these resources are exploited on a first-come, first-served basis. Each individual user of the resource will tend to continue to use the resource until her average revenue is equal to the marginal cost of using the resource (Gordon 1954).

This 2012 Global Food Policy Report is the second in an annual series that provides an in-depth look at major food policy developments and events. Initiated in response to resurgent interest in food security, the series offers a yearly overview of the food policy developments that have contributed to or hindered progress in food and nutrition security. It reviews what happened in food policy and why, examines key challenges and opportunities, shares new evidence and knowledge, and highlights emerging issues.

The highlands of East Africa have been endowed with a combination of moderate temperatures, adequate rainfall (falling in two distinct seasons for much of the highlands), and productive soils that make the region one of the best suited for agricultural development in all of Africa. As a consequence, the area has a long history of human habitation and supports some of the highest rural population densities in Africa (Hoekstra and Corbett 1995; Pender, Place, and Ehui 1999).

A series of high-profile food-related scares around the globe has drawn attention to the issue of food safety and other health risks associated with agriculture. Because the scope of the problem is different at different levels of economic development, we need nuanced policy options to promote safer food production systems worldwide.