Providing extension and advisory services is expensive. There are salaries to be paid, transporta­tion and operational funds to be provided, buildings to be rented or built, demonstration plots to maintain, and continued education to be offered to the extension staff. And then there is the need to continually invest in an overall functioning agricultural innovation system with strong research and teaching institutions, enabling policies, as well as to make capital investments in rural infrastructure that will not only benefit the farming population.

The aim of the “Management advice for family farms” (MAFF) approach is to strengthen the abilities of farmers to manage their farms and improve their economic and social autonomy. In Francophone Africa, this holistic concept has been applied successfully for almost two decades.

To disentangle the issue concerning which dimensions of land rights, among security, tradability and pledgeability, affect agricultural outcomes, this paper exploits a unique partial land rights entitlement programme in Thailand, which guarantees only security, allows a limited access to credit, and prohibits any land sale. Based on an instrumental variable strategy, I find that the entitlement increases (1) second rice but not major rice productivity, (2) land use intensity, and leads to changes in (3) land use pattern, (4) land-related investment, and (5) better soil quality.

ABSTRACTED FROM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Rubber prices in northern Laos have fallen significantly over the last few years, eroding much of the enthusiasm developed by both farmers and government officials in the 1990s and early 2000s about rubber providing a way out of poverty for poor upland farmers.

The food crises of 2007-2008, the cause of the “hunger riots” in several so-called developing countries, did not reveal a food shortage but problems accessing the food. These problems were the result of the development of an agricultural model, capitalist operation with workers, that does not meet the food-related needs of individuals with no or little money. The growth of this model is hindering the achievement of food sovereignty and security1.

Les crises alimentaires de 2007-2008, causes d’ « émeutes de la faim » dans plusieurs pays dits en voie de développement, ont été révélatrices, non d’une pénurie alimentaire, mais de problèmes d’accès à la nourriture. Elles ont été la conséquence du développement d’un modèle agricole, l’exploitation capitaliste à salariés, qui ne répond pas aux besoins alimentaires des personnes non ou trop peu dotées en argent. L’expansion de ce modèle fait obstacle à la réalisation de la sécurité et de la souveraineté alimentaires1.

The international market for agricultural products – where products are traded between countries – represents only 15% of production and world consumption of agricultural products.

Prices of basic commodities traded in this market are very low because the farms that supply it are highly mechanised and capable of producing at very low cost.

El mercado internacional de los productos agrícolas, donde se comercializan los productos entre países, solo afecta al 15 % de la producción del consumo mundial de productos agrícolas.

Los precios de los productos básicos practicados en este mercado son muy bajos, ya que las explotaciones que lo abastecen están extremadamente mecanizadas y son capaces de producir a muy bajo precio.

Le marché international des produits agricoles – celui où s’échangent les produits entre pays – ne concerne que 15 % de la production et de la consommation mondiale de produits agricoles.

Les prix des produits de base pratiqués sur ce marché sont très bas car les exploitations qui l’approvisionnent sont hautement mécanisées et capables de produire à très bas coûts.

Le sort fait à l’agriculture familiale et le développement urbain sont étroitement liés.

Processes of land grabbing and accumulation have greatly threatened small-scale family-based agriculture and societies overall. The destruction of small-scale agriculture can be attributed to national and international policies which actively support the development of a capitalist agriculture with employees.

Les processus d’accaparement et de concentration des terres font peser sur l’agriculture familiale paysanne et les sociétés dans leur ensemble de lourdes menaces. La destruction de l’agriculture paysanne est à imputer aux politiques internationales et nationales soutenant activement le développement d’une agriculture capitaliste à salariés.