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Estimation of specific yield using water table fluctuations and cropped area in a hardrock aquifer system of Rajasthan, India

Journal Articles & Books
December, 2018
India

Assessment of specific yields is important for effective groundwater management in semi-arid hardrock aquifers, especially in India with its unsustainable groundwater usage rates. The Dharta watershed in the Udaipur district of Rajasthan is one such hardrock area in India where the groundwater extraction rate is a concern.

Improving the accuracy of remotely sensed irrigated areas using post-classification enhancement through UAV [Unmanned Aerial Vehicle] capability

Journal Articles & Books
December, 2018
South Africa

Although advances in remote sensing have enhanced mapping and monitoring of irrigated areas, producing accurate cropping information through satellite image classification remains elusive due to the complexity of landscapes, changes in reflectance of different land-covers, the remote sensing data selected, and image processing methods used, among others. This study extracted agricultural fields in the former homelands of Venda and Gazankulu in Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Models meet data : Challenges and opportunities in implementing land management in Earth system models

Journal Articles & Books
December, 2018

As the applications of Earth system models (ESMs) move from general climate projections toward questions of mitigation and adaptation, the inclusion of land management practices in these models becomes crucial. We carried out a survey among modeling groups to show an evolution from models able only to deal with land-cover change to more sophisticated approaches that allow also for the partial integration of land management changes. For the longer term a comprehensive land management representation can be anticipated for all major models.

The Cambodian peasantry and the formalisation of land rights : Historical overview and current issues

Reports & Research
November, 2018
Cambodia

The central objective of this working paper produced by Jean-Christophe Diepart and Thol Sem, is to examine the recognition and formalisation of peasants’ land rights against the backdrop of Cambodian history and political economy of land and agrarian change.

It aims to understand how colonialism, war, socialism and the regional integration against a neoliberal background have shaped the land rights of smallholder farmers in contemporary Cambodia.

The global farmland grab by pension funds needs to stop

October, 2018

Money from pension funds has fuelled the financial sector’s massive move into farmland investing over the past decade. The number of pension funds involved in farmland investment and the amount of money they are deploying into it is increasing;under the radar. This unprecedented take-over of farmland by financial companies has major implications for rural communities and food systems;and must be challenged. Leaving it to the companies to police themselves with their own voluntary guidelines is a recipe for disaster.

Harvard's billion-dollar farmland fiasco

Reports & Research
August, 2018
Global

One of the world's major buyers of farmland is under fire for their involvement in land conflicts, environmental destruction and risky investments. A new report by GRAIN and Rede Social de Justiça e Direitos Humano presents, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of Harvard University's controversial investments in global farmland.


The report finds that:


Agricultural risks and farm land consolidation process in transition countries: The case of cotton production in Uzbekistan

Peer-reviewed publication
June, 2018
Uzbekistan

Cotton production substantially contributes to the GDP of Uzbekistan. It is produced under a state procurement policy, according to which farmers have to allocate half of their land for cotton, fulfill cotton output levels and sell the entire harvest of cotton to the state. Land is state owned and a land consolidation process is in place, where land allocated to a farm can be reduced if cotton production targets are not met.

Failed farmland deals: a growing legacy of disaster and pain

Reports & Research
June, 2018
Africa

GRAIN has documented at least 135 farmland deals for food crop production that have backfired between 2007 and 2017. They represent 17.5 million hectares. These are not failed land grabs, since the land almost never goes back to the communities, but failed agribusiness projects. While higher standards of due diligence and stronger forms of liability are surely needed, the real challenge is to get the land back to the communities. No one should rest until that is achieved.

Models meet data: Challenges and opportunities in implementing land management in Earth system models

April, 2018

As the applications of Earth system models (ESMs) move from general climate projections toward questions of mitigation and adaptation, the inclusion of land management practices in these models becomes crucial. We carried out a survey among modeling groups to show an evolution from models able only to deal with land-cover change to more sophisticated approaches that allow also for the partial integration of land management changes. For the longer term a comprehensive land management representation can be anticipated for all major models.