Access to Land and Land Policy Reforms

Abstract

Abstract The problem of optimum access to farm land — which involves issues such as who would be given the access and under what conditions this access may be given — continues to receive a great deal of concern in several developing countries as achieving this is not without certain consequences to the environment, efficiency and welfare costs, and varied political implications. It is important to note that land is an often misallocated factor which entails incomplete user or property rights which may bring about disincentives. However, macro-economic reforms to address such issues in terms of structural adjustment policies resulted in a weak supply response particularly in agriculture. This chapter introduces the main issue of access to land and the possible implications of land policy reforms.