During the past two decades agrarian (‘land and farm’) reforms have been widespread in the transition economies of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA), following earlier ones in Asia (China and Vietnam). However, independent family farms did not become the predominant sector in most of Eastern Europe. A new dual (or bi-modal) agrarian structure emerged, consisting of large farm enterprises (with much less social functions than they had before), and very small peasant farms or subsidiary plots.

In the savanna rangelands of southern Africa, the debate about land reform tends to be about the redistribution of formerly freehold ranches and fencing-off the rangeland commons into ranches for better-off African farmers. The position of those who favour privatisation has been strengthened by the belief that the only environmentally sound way to manage the range is to subdivide it into private ranches because traditional open-range pastoralism is environmentally destructive. This point of view is at variance with an ever-increasing body of research.

This study assessed the socioecological resilience of family farms in three land reform settlements in Mato Grosso, Brazil, located in the ecologically threatened Cerrado biome. Using focus groups, a household survey, and analysis of soil samples we characterized farming systems and quantified indicators of resilience, which we contextualized with a qualitative analysis of distributions of power and access to rights and resources.

The grassland biome of South Africa is a major resource for livestock farming; yet the soils of these rangelands are stressed differently by various management systems. The aim of this study was to investigate how basic soil properties respond to different management systems. For this purpose we sampled rangeland management systems under communal (continuous grazing), commercial (rotational grazing) and land reform (mixture of grazing systems) farming.

We examined the effect of changes in land use and land tenure on bush encroachment and vegetation condition. An analysis of aerial photographs from three time steps (1949, 1985 and 2004) was used to document changes in woody plant density in different vegetation types on commonage and an adjacent commercial farm in Fort Beaufort, South Africa. Rangeland condition was assessed in different vegetation units of the area and woody plant density was related to distance from urban settlement.

Farmers in the northern avocado cultivation areas of South Africa were interviewed concerning their experience and perceptions of biological control. Factors affecting their decision to use biological control programmes as a disease control strategy, were also investigated. Results indicate that educational level, age and land owner status reflect the farmer's decision making ability and the level of commitment to adopt the new technology.

This study develops and uses a programming model for farm-level resource use and output supply response to estimate the effects of agricultural land tax in South Africa: A case study of Free State, a region of extremely large commercial farms that gainedtheir size and economic heft during the apartheid years of aggressive subsidies, favorable tax treatment, lucrative state grants and gifts, and all manner of financial assistance. The resultsindicate that changes in land use and output supply are marginal. The highest effects areobserved on irrigated farming.

The Grain for Green Programme (GGP) was launched in China in 1999 to control erosion and increase vegetation cover. Budgeted at USD 40 billion, GGP has converted over 20 million hectares of cropland and barren land into primarily tree-based plantations. Although GGP includes energy forests, only a negligible part (0.6%) is planted as such, most of the land (78%) being converted for protection. Future use of these plantations is unclear and an energy substitution hypothesis is valid.

Scholars today are divided on the motivation behind what is often called Jefferson’s “moral agrarianism”. On the one hand, some scholars take Jefferson at his word when he mentions that agrarianism is a moral vision. For these individuals, Jefferson’s agrarianism is a moral vision and an indispensible part of the good life. On the other hand, other scholars maintain that Jefferson’s moral agrarianism is merely a bit of propaganda that insidiously sheaths a political or economic ideal.

O tema da reforma agrária é examinado por três ângulos: a ação do Estado, a demanda existente e o debate acadêmico. A partir da análise de diferentes perspectivas em jogo, indica-se como possível resposta ao título do texto, que sejam concentrados recursos humanos, financeiros e logísticos numa região que cubra a metade norte de Minas Gerais e se estenda até o Maranhão. Os mecanismos de desapropriação e aquisição ali ainda são possíveis por serem mais baratas as terras do Nordeste, levando em conta a escassez de recursos e a necessidade de maximizar a eficácia governamental.