Agrarian reform
Encyclopedia
Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land
(see land reform
) or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system
of the country, which often includes land reform measures. Agrarian reform can include credit
measures, training, extension
, land consolidation
s, etc. The World Bank
evaluates agrarian reform using five dimensions: (1) price and market liberalization, (2) land reform (including the development of land markets), (3) agro-processing and input supply channels, (4) rural finance, (5) market institutions.
Ben Cousins defines the difference between agrarian reform and land reform as follows:
Along similar lines, a 2003 World Bank
report states,
Examples of other issues include "tenure
security" for "farm workers, labour tenants, … farm dwellers… [and] tenant peasants", which makes these workers and tenants better prospects for receiving private-sector loans;
"infrastructure and support services";
government support of "forms of rural enterprise" that are "complementary" to agriculture;
and increased community participation in government decisions in rural areas.
Agricultural land
Agricultural land denotes the land suitable for agricultural production, both crops and livestock. It is one of the main resources in agriculture...
(see land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
) or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system
Agrarian system
An agrarian system is a concept used to describe the dynamic set of economic and technological factors that affect agricultural practices. It is premised on the idea that different systems have developed depending on the natural and social conditions specific to a particular region...
of the country, which often includes land reform measures. Agrarian reform can include credit
Credit (finance)
Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide resources to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately , but instead arranges either to repay or return those resources at a later date. The resources provided may be financial Credit is the trust...
measures, training, extension
Agricultural extension
Agricultural extension was once known as the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education...
, land consolidation
Land consolidation
Land consolidation is a planned readjustment and rearrangement of land parcels and their ownership. It is usually applied to form larger and more rational land holdings. Land consolidation can be used to improve the rural infrastructure and to implement the developmental and environmental policies ....
s, etc. The World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
evaluates agrarian reform using five dimensions: (1) price and market liberalization, (2) land reform (including the development of land markets), (3) agro-processing and input supply channels, (4) rural finance, (5) market institutions.
Ben Cousins defines the difference between agrarian reform and land reform as follows:
Land reform… is concerned with rights in land, and their character, strength and distribution, while… [agrarian reform] focuses not only on these but also a broader set of issues: the class character of the relations of production and distribution in farming and related enterprises, and how these connect to the wider class structure. It is thus concerned economic and political power and the relations between them…
Along similar lines, a 2003 World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
report states,
…A key precondition for land reform to be feasible and effective in improving beneficiaries' livelihoods is that such programs fit into a broader policy aimed at reducing poverty and establishing a favourable environment for the development of productive smallholder agriculture by beneficiaries.
Examples of other issues include "tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
security" for "farm workers, labour tenants, … farm dwellers… [and] tenant peasants", which makes these workers and tenants better prospects for receiving private-sector loans;
"infrastructure and support services";
government support of "forms of rural enterprise" that are "complementary" to agriculture;
and increased community participation in government decisions in rural areas.
External links
- Global Food Security Threatened by Corporate Land Grabs in Poor Countries - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...