This chapter is a case study that tests hypotheses in order to determine if political factors can reduce violence in cases of climate-change-induced or -aggravated agro-pastoral conflicts over natural resources. Three West African countries were selected because of their common socio-economic and environmental characteristics and because they host comparable farmer–herder conflicts: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. The level of farmer–herder conflicts is estimated to have risen between 1960 and 2000 in the three countries.

Uganda’s progress in reducing poverty from 1993 to 2006 is a remarkable story of success that has been well told. The narrative of Uganda’s continued, albeit it slightly slower, progress in reducing poverty since 2006 is less familiar. This was a period in which growth slowed as the gains from reforms years earlier had been fully realized, and weak infrastructure and increasing corruption increasingly constrained private sector competitiveness (World Bank 2015). This report examines Uganda’s progress in reducing poverty, with a specific focus on the period 2006 to 2013.

A critical assessment of 22 years of land reform policies in South Africa. Concludes that land reform has been captured by elites. The most powerful voices are those of ‘emerging’ black capitalist farmers (often with non-farm incomes), traditional leaders, large-scale white commercial farmers and agribusiness corporates, who are all benefiting more than the poor.

Key findings

Since 2009, Oxfam and others have been raising the alarm about a great global land rush. Millions of hectares of land have been acquired by investors to meet rising demand for food and biofuels, or for speculation. This often happens at the expense of those who need the land most and are best placed to protect it: farmers, pastoralists, forest-dependent people, fisherfolk, and indigenous peoples.

 

In a long-term project in Kenya, the Swiss-based Research Institute of Organic Agriculture has examined the potential of organic and conventional agriculture regarding soil fertility, the occurrence of pests and diseases, and profitability. Initial results make a strong case to implement policy measures necessary for supporting the adoption of organic management practices on a large scale.

A project in Burkina Faso has given a clear demonstration of what supporting family farms can achieve in terms of poverty alleviation and rural development. One important success factor was the transfer of land to farmers, accompanied by a secure land-tenure policy adapted to their needs.

Snakebites are a crucial, yet underreported issue in many South Asian countries. In India, they kill some 50,000 people every year. However, the government has neglected the issue. Now, it’s time to seriously address this all but forgotten public health problem, our author maintains.

Most stakeholder-based research concerning agri-environmental schemes (AES) derives from work engaging with farmers and land managers. Consequently, the voices and opinions of other actors involved in AES tends to be unrepresented in the wider literature. One group of actors that seem particularly overlooked in this respect are private (independent) farm advisors (i.e., the consultants contracted by farmers and land managers to advise-on AES and agronomic matters).

El presente Acuerdo reglamenta el Subsidio Integral de Reforma Agraria (SIRA), en cuanto a sus generalidades, sujetos de atención, predios a adquirir, proyecto productivo y procedimiento para su otorgamiento. El presente Acuerdo únicamente se aplicará cuando no existan las zonas rurales con intervenciones integrales para promover el desarrollo rural, o cuando existiendo no sea viable la asignación del subsidio al interior de ellas. El SIRA será equivalente al valor de la Unidad Agrícola Familiar (UAF), fijada en función de la evaluación técnica y financiera del proyecto productivo.