For more than forty years, Landesa has been striving to secure land rights for the world’s poorest families. With headquarters in Seattle, Washington, its work is based on the firm belief that having legal rights to land is the first condition for prosperity. “We’ve learned”, explained Landesa’s CEO, Tim Hanstad, “that when a family has … Read more

Land governance is the process by which decisions are made regarding access to and use of land and natural resources, the manner in which those decisions are implemented, and the way that conflicting interests are reconciled. In rural areas, informal processes managed by families or communities are often more important for accessing land than statutory … Read more

While at the start of 2011 “a dangerous conspiracy of silence on the subject of land grabbing” seemed to be in place, more and more organisations are showing what’s really happening, says Robin Palmer. More and more information is coming from the ILC, GRAIN, ActionAid, … Farming Matters | 27.4 | December 2011 At the … Read more

Deadline: March 1st 2012 The coming Rio+20 conference of June 2012 will focus on the importance of “greening the economy” (see “What shade of green will Rio+20 provide” article). According to UNEP, a “green economy” describes an economic system “that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological … Read more

What is the definition of a herder? Are you still a pastoralist if you move your ger (the herders’ tent) only twice a year? And what if you start growing crops? With an increasing number of competing land claims, Mongolian herders are changing their lifestyles, and this is leading to their position in society being … Read more

Farming Mattters | 27.4 | December 2011 This issue of Farming Matters on a topic that is central to all small-scale farmers: land. Competition for land and power, and particularly the global increase of large scale land acquisitions, cause contestations about which land is rightfully owned and used by whom. This edition explores a range … Read more

Discourses and approaches to land rights have a long and complicated history, as do the various social and political contexts in which these discussions take place. There are numerous drivers of the renewed contests for control over land. Recently, the convergence of crises in the supply of food, feed, fibre, and in the financial and … Read more

Evidence suggests that foreign or private investments in land in Nicaragua have not occurred at the same rate as in other countries, but there are many competing claims to land. Coffee co-operatives have secured higher prices, helping vulnerable populations, but most co-operative members are men. Alternative approaches are helping those worst off: women farmers. Nicaragua … Read more

Over the past year ILEIA has contributed to the knowledge management activities of IFAD’s East and Southern Africa Division by facilitating a documentation process in Uganda. This involved representatives of four different projects, all of them interested in drawing out specific lessons from their work. In the words of Carole Idriss-Kanago, the Associate Country Programme … Read more

Innovative policies in Brazil, such as the Zero Hunger Programme, have significantly reduced poverty in the past decade. Yet, land distribution remains a serious challenge: 46% of all land is controlled by 1% of the population. In Araponga, farmers have not only been able to acquire land: they have increased their options in a sustainable … Read more