Land access, off - farm income and capital access in relation to the reduction of rural poverty

The current framework of economic growth and development includes a general trend towards the privatization of land rights and a collapse of collective structures in agriculture as well as a move towards reliance on land markets as the means of peasant access to participation in the development process. Despite the removal of land reform as an explicit part of the policy agenda, it is clear that the situations which led to the activation of land reforms in past decades are still in place. This article discusses the relevance of looking at land tenure systems when evaluating macroeconomic policies that affect agriculture. Also discussed are the link between land tenure security and access to income and assets; the nature and performance of land markets with regard to the participation of the rural poor; and the link between agrarian organizational structures and off-farm income. The conclusion reached is that rural poverty reduction requires multifaceted policy efforts that recognize the linkages among household asset access portfolios, household income strategies and macrostructural changes. [author]