Land consolidation can be an important tool for increasing agricultural competitiveness and improving rural conditions. Farmers can become more competitive when they decrease fragmentation and increase the size of their farms, and rural communities can benefit when consolidation projects include components to improve local infrastructure and the environment.

In countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the development of arrangements for land consolidation takes place in the wake of the transition to a new private property regime, and in the context of accession to the European Union. The process of institutional change is complex and sensitive to immediate political and economic agendas. It is also determined by other prevailing social, economic and cultural factors.