Food First Backgrounder, Spring 2014, Vol. 20, No. 1

Introduction: Land, Race and the Agrarian Crisis

The disastrous effects of widespread land grabbing and land concentration sweeping the globe do not affect all farmers equally. The degree of vulnerability to these threats is highest for smallholders, women and people of color—the ones who grow, harvest, process and prepare most of the world’s food.

At the turn of the 21st century, farmland was still considered an investment backwater by most of the financial sector. Although some insurance companies have had farmland holdings for years, most financial investors found farmland, and agricultural investment in general, unappealing compared to the much higher returns to be made in financial markets.

Introduction: Farmland, A Safe Investment in Troubling Financial Times

Sustainable agricultural intensification holds promise to play a
role in the broader effort to ensure food security while protecting our natural
resource base. But what would such a sustainable intensification look like in
practice? This chapter presents the results of an ex ante assessment of the yield
and food security potential of 11 technologies for the sustainable intensification
of the key staple crops of maize, rice, and wheat.

The practice of food security assessment in Tanzania is based on use of food crops production data surveys of a preceding seasonal year with agro-meteorological analyses based on estimated vegetation status as reflected from NDVI computed from NOAA satellite images.  Food security assessment essentially is a prediction of food availability in predefined future time framework. It helps to establish availability or deficiency of food, thereby facilitating planning and implementation of strategies to mitigate the problem of hunger.

The concept in this paper builds upon basic principles of sustainability to address the problem of how a sustainable project must contribute to economic and social welfare without depleting natural resources, destroying the environment or harming human health.. With this understanding, a systems approach was used in a study that conceptualised a paradigm shift in project management system for sustainability incorporating Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Cause-effect Chain and the Socio-economic Resource models.

Selection of roads for improvement of transport network with minimum demolition of houses required in roads widening has been a challenge for many years in upgrading informal settlements. The problem is compounded by lack of a methodological tool required to assist decision makers on selecting roads that can be widened and improved for improvement of transport network with minimum demolition of houses and compensation costs.

Property taxation has a long history of implementation in Dar es Salaam; yet Local Government Authorities (LGAs) ability to raise revenue through property tax has remained low. This article examines various initiatives by the government to develop a functional property tax system capable of generating sufficient revenue for the LGAs. It observes that while there have been efforts to develop the capacity of LGAs in exploiting the property tax revenue source, the tax base coverage and revenue collection levels are still critical, calling for more attention.

Zambia recognizes two types of land tenure: customary and leasehold tenure. While historically the majority of land in Zambia has been held under customary tenure, leases (also called leasehold titles) are the only legal means of holding land rights. In 1995, a new Land Act was passed, which makes it easier for investors to acquire leasehold titles to customary land. When an investor obtains a leasehold title to customary land, the customary land reverts to the state once the lease expires and is thereafter governed by statute.

Durante os últimos anos, o país tem atraído volumes de investimentos crescentes no sector dos recursos minerais, nomeadamente para exploração de gás, areias pesadas, exploração de carvão mineral. A maior parte destes investimentos impõem reassentamentos da população, tendo nos últimos cinco anos deslocado cerca de 20.000 pessoas, das quais aproximadamente 50% destas só na Província de Tete (os reassentamentos para dar lugar as minas de Carvão de Moatize e de Benga).

This document addresses the need for explicit inclusion of livelihoods within the environment nexus (water-energy-food security). The authors present a conceptualisation of ‘environmental livelihood security’, which combines the nexus perspective with sustainable livelihoods. The geographical focus of this paper is Southeast Asia and Oceania, which the authors highlight is a region currently wrought by the impacts of a changing climate.

Comprehensive yet concise report outlining the key challenges and projected demands in the global agricultural sector, from an energy-water-food nexus perspective.

This report cautions against an overly rigid approach to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which it argues could limit development options for poor countries, particularly in how they are able to manage critical water resources. It identifies key challenges such as setting realistic targets, carefully considering the local context to address the needs of the poor, and promoting sustainable water resources development in a way that values healthy ecosystems.