In the past few decades there has been an increasing pressure of population all over the world, especially in India, resulting in the utilization of every available patch of available land from woodlands to badlands. The study area represents a basin which is economically growing fast by converting the fallow lands, badlands and woodlands to agricultural land for the past few decades.

The gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development presents an enormous opportunity to achieve gender equality, end poverty and hunger, combat inequalities within and among countries, build peaceful, just and inclusive societies, protect and promote human rights, and ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources. The SDGs provide an important framework for collective action to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and the realization of their full enjoyment of all human rights.

Our planet faces multiple and complex challenges in the twenty-first century. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development commits the international community to act together to overcome them and transform our world for present and future generations.

Over the coming 35 years, agriculture will face an unprecedented confluence of pressures, including a 30 percent increase in the global population, intensifying competition for increasingly scarce land, water and energy resources, and the existential threat of climate change. To provide for a population projected to reach 9.3 billion in 2050 and support changing dietary patterns, estimates are that food production will need to increase from the current 8.4 billion tonnes to almost 13.5 billion tonnes a year.

This document presents a proposal of indicators that could be considered for FAO to monitor progress towards a subset of Goals for which the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) define targets aimed towards various outcomes, as well as additional targets addressing related Means of Implementation. The proposals comprise both established and potential indicators in areas where FAO has unique expertise and abundant experience as the leading UN specialized body committed to food security and sustainable development.

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This paper analyses the Zambian land governance system, the actors and institutions shaping it and its reaction to the new interest in farmland. We draw theories from New Institutional Economics and base our empirical analyses on expert interviews and focus group discussions conducted in Zambia. 

Customary tenure has been associated with absence of individual ownership, inadequate security of tenure, weak institutions, causing environmental degradation, and discriminating against women. These perceptions are re-looked at in the light of personal experience and observations, and literature review in the context of Zambia.

This study relates to an on-going debate as to whether customary African land tenure must be reformed or converted to a statutory, individualised land tenure system (often referred to as a ‘titled’ system) as a pre-requisite to agricultural development. Past arguments in favour of titling claim that traditional tenure is insecure for the small farmer and thus creates disincentives for land improvements; that it prevents land from being used as collateral for credit; and that it prevents the transfer of land from inefficient users to efficient ones.

Zambia has experienced strong economic performance since 1999. However, agriculture has not performed as well as the rest of the economy, and although the incidence of poverty has declined, it still

remains high. The Zambian government, within the framework of the Fifth National Development Plan

The global finance, energy and food crises are fuelling a global rush for land in developing countries. In their search for land, political leaders and investors look to Africa as a potential food supplier for the rest of the world. However, the current trend of land liberalisation rarely offers a solution to sustainable food production and poverty reduction among smallhold farmers in rural areas, as shown by this case study.

Chiefly an agricultural society, India has a strong linkage between land and social status of an individual. Nearly 70 % of its population dependent on land, either as farmers or farm laborers and it is imperative to address the issues of land ensuring livelihood, dignity and food security to millions of Indians. Land reform was a major policy initiative in the country in 1950s and early 1960s.