Includes the rise of land deals in sub-Saharan Africa; land grabbing and risks for small scale farmers; land grabs: another yoke over women’s land rights?; is land grabbing threatening pastoralism?; opportunity for groups at risk: the African Union’s continental standards on the land question.

Argues the need to transition the people’s demand for land from ‘land reform’ and ‘land tenure security’ to ‘land sovereignty’. A peoples’ enclosure campaign is needed to help farmers to proactively assert their political control over their remaining lands against potential and actual threats of corporate or state enclosure.

Examines political and social dynamics of foreign agricultural investment in Ethiopia. Concludes that this expansion is part of a government move towards an export-led development strategy, so the micro-benefits come at the cost of increased risks to those living in the vicinity of new investments, particularly politically marginalised pastoralist populations.

A video showing how Lutheran World Federation is working with rural communities, village chiefs, local and national administration to raise awareness and to support people in claiming their legal rights in a context in which a land law was passed to protect small-scale farmers and rural communities but often the legal procedure is not respected and farmers lose the land on which their livelihood depends.

Land is often a critical aspect of conflict: it may be a root cause or trigger conflicts or may become an issue as the conflict progresses. Conflicts lead to forced evictions; the people who are displaced by conflict need somewhere to live and some land to farm or to graze their animals, often leading to further disputes over the use of land and other resources.

Data and information on land are fundamental for enabling smallholder farmers to gain secure access and control over their land, which provides the basis for investing in their operations.
This briefing paper outlines the importance and benefits of increasing the availability and accessibility of land information in support of improved food security and nutrition.

ABSTRACTED FROM LA VIA CAMPESINA PRESS RELEASE: The UN Declaration aims to better protect the rights of all rural populations including peasants, fisherfolks, nomads, agricultural workers and indigenous peoples and to improve living conditions, as well as to strengthen food sovereignty, the fight against climate change and the conservation of biodiversity. The endorsement of the UN Declaration also constitutes an important contribution to the international community’s effort to promote family farming and peasant agriculture.

Se estudia el conflicto en torno a la propiedad de la tierra en el sur de Chile (principalmente en la Araucanía, Valdivia y Osorno), el que tuvo como protagonistas al Estado, chilenos y extranjeros. Se revisan los antecedentes del problema, especialmente la llegada de población chilena y extranjera a la zona y la presencia de comunidades indígenas, entre mediados del siglo XIX y 1929. Después, la búsqueda de una solución, a través de diversas leyes, la acción de un ministerio especial y, particularmente, la política estatal sobre comunidades indígenas.

Como resultado de la implementación de las políticas neoliberales en la región durante las dos últimas décadas, el problema de la tierra ha pretendido ser “archivado” no sólo en las políticas sectoriales sino también en las discusiones sobre el problema agrario y rural en general.

Oxfam India is part of a global movement working to fight poverty, injustice and inequality; in India it works in seven focus state. Oxfam India aims to improve poor people’s access, rights and entitlements over land and natural resources in order to support and augment their livelihoods. Through its programme on smallholder agriculture, Oxfam India focuses on socialising the identity of women as farmers, strengthening the economic leadership of women farmers, ensuring their land rights and making public investments in agriculture accessible to small farmers, especially women farmers.

Demand for organic basmati rice (OBR), both at home and abroad, coupled with policy reforms in India have given rise to contract farming (CF) production in that nation. OBR production, however, is highly susceptible to weather and pest risks. This study investigates the impact of smallholders’ perceived production risks on their adoption of CF in OBR farming. We also assess the impact of CF in OBR production on yields, prices received, and the livelihood of OBR producers.