This paper provides an overview of land reform in South Africa from 1994 to 2011, with the focus on the land redistribution. The government policies and associated implementation since 1994 have not generated expected social and economic results for a number of reasons. Even where land has been transferred, it appears to have had minimal impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries, largely because of inappropriate project design, a lack of necessary support services and shortages of working capital, leading to widespread underutilization of land.

This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during October 2011 in Nyaunglebin District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed Naw P---, a 42-year-old flat field farmer, who described her experiences being forcibly relocated by Tatmadaw troops, most recently in 2004 from D--- to T--- relocation village.

O crescente posicionamento da China, de mera aquiescência para um manifesto activismo, no que concerne os assuntos africanos está a transformar a dinâmica do sistema pós-colonial (Braütigam 2009, Alden 2007; Taylor 2006). Desde o  início do processo de reforma interna, iniciada em 1978, que a fé maoísta e o altruísmo revolucionário deram lugar a empreendedores comerciais e a defensores das formas de mercado capitalista, agindo conscientemente em interesse próprio.

Three years after the G8 Summit at L’Aquila, Italy, the international community recognizes the importance of food security to development, inclusive economic growth and the dignity of all women and men. In that spirit, we welcome the success of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) in demonstrating African ownership and leadership, its call for expanded public and private investment in agriculture and desire to build on the progress that African governments have made in advancing a vision for agricultural development in Africa. 

Because agriculture is the economic backbone of most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, any meaningful sustainable development program in the continent must therefore be anchored in the sector. The concept for this study on agribusiness indicators was based on the vital role that agribusiness plays in agricultural development. The study focuses on agribusiness indicators (ABI) to identify and isolate the determining factors that lead private investors and other stakeholders to participate in agribusiness and to engage in discourse regarding its development.

International food prices spiked for the second time in four years in early 2011, igniting concerns about a repeat of the 2008 food price crisis and its consequences for the poor. International food price uncertainty has also increased along with average levels. Although price volatility is an intrinsic characteristic of agricultural markets, it has increased markedly over the last five years, compared to the previous two and a half decades, even when controlling for inflation.

Includes why are these issues especially poignant for women?, softening the blow while tightening the wrench, a question of ownership – women and land in Africa, the realities of customary land and the rights of women, land rights – moving beyond the individual claim.

Land plays a vital and central role in the economic, social-cultural and political lives of both individuals and communities. Given its centrality in the socio-economic and political spheres, national goals such as economic development, poverty reduction, social and political stability are closely linked to land. Land provides the livelihood base for the bulk of the population especially in the rural areas where agriculture is the main occupation. Despite their importance, land and environment in Kenya have suffered decades of mismanagement that has led to the current state of degradation.

Property rights to land represent the key institutional asset on which rural people build their livelihoods. In fact, in many countries, landlessness is the best predictor of poverty. The nature of farmers’ property rights to land substantially impacts their willingness and ability to adopt productivity-enhancing inputs and investments.

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. 

Investidores agrícolas estrangeiros estão em conflitos com camponeses locais em Moçambique, num confronto sobre modelos agrícolas e desenvolvimento. Investidores estrangeiros de olho em terra aparentemente vaga, prometem lucros elevados (muitas vezes inflacionados) a investidores e parceiros locais. Alguns esperam capitalizar com créditos de carbono ou produzir biocombustíveis e alegam ser investimentos “verdes” (ecológicos). Todos prometem empregos, escolas e desenvolvimento local.

Foreign agricultural investors are clashing with local peasants in Mozambique, in a  confrontation over agricultural and development models. Foreign investors looking a apparently vacant land promise high (often inflated) profits to investors and local partners. Some hope to capitalise on carbon credits or produce biofuels, and claim to be green investments. All promise jobs, schools, and local development. Local backers support the outside investors and their plantations with terms like "progress" and "modernisation".