By Joe Studwell & Chris Jochnick
After World War II, land reform programs in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan redistributed vast swaths of land to poor tenant farmers and agricultural laborers. The efforts helped end extreme poverty and hunger — changing the course of these countries’ histories. Land reform was referred to as the “secret sauce” that sparked sustained and broad-based economic growth.
By Imma Subirats, Senior Knowledge and Information Management Officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect” (The Land Portal Video).
This blog was written as a contribution to the Mekong Regional Land Forum that took place from June 21-23 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Duncan Pruett was a keynote speaker at this event.
By Duncan Pruett, Program Policy Advisor for Oxfam in Myanmar
By Lorenzo Cotula, Principal Researcher for the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
The commodity slump has cooled the global land rush. But land rights are still under pressure, requiring action at local to global levels.
By Nicholas K. Tagliarino, World Resources Institute
By Colleen O'Holleran
Over the past few decades there has been growing awareness of the need to strengthen land rights for women and men across the African continent. As a result, governments have come under growing pressure to improve laws, policies and institutions to guarantee Africa’s smallholder farmers secure land tenure.
Adding to the urgency of this call to action is the global land rush for farmland, which has raised concerns about large land-based investments displacing smallholders and pastoralists.
By Janessa Robinson, Digital Communications Officer at ActionAid USA
More than 18 million hectares of Brazilian land is covered by babassu palms and the babassu nut that comes from the tree is used extensively in food, as well as soap and beauty products.
