Land Redistribution : Towards a common vision

1. Land Redistribution: Towards a common vision Why do we care about land redistribution today? • Part I: Messages from WDR 2008, “Agriculture for Development” • Part II: Implications of WDR 2008 strategy for access to land and land redistribution

2. Agriculture for Development “75% of the world’s poor are rural and most are involved in farming. Agriculture remains a fundamental instrument for sustainable development and poverty reduction” Part I. World Development Report 2008 Preliminary version in progress

3. WDR 2008-Agriculture for DevelopmentStoryline • Agriculture remains fundamental for development, and differentially by context, • But the powers of agriculture are often under-used. • There are new opportunities to use agriculture that open multiple pathways out of poverty, • With new (and lingering) challenges to be addressed, • Requiring differentiated agendas and improved governance.

4. Premise one: There are three worlds for the roles of agriculture in growth and poverty

5. Premise two: There is deep heterogeneity across areas, households, and intra-household • Favored vs marginal areas • Agro-ecology, market access, growth-poverty • Household heterogeneity • Smallholders: Market-oriented vs subsistence • Rural non-farm enterprises: low vs. high productivity • Labor markets: high vs low skills • Migration: out of vs. into poverty • Intra-household differences • Gender roles, access to assets Differentiated impacts of a policy; and differentiated policies in using agriculture for development

6. Three functions for agriculture in developmentFirst function: A source of aggregate growth for the agriculture-based countries • Why/how can agriculture (and agroindustry) be a source of aggregate growth for the agriculture-based countries (Sub-Saharan Africa)? • A large sector: 29% of GDP, 65% of labor force • With limited tradability (due to commodity specificity, transactions costs), must invest in agriculture as domestic production determines the price of food and wage costs • Where tradable, current comparative advantage in primary sectors based on resource endowments, weak investment climate for industry • Multiplier effects of agricultural growth on other sectors Note: With limited tradability, domestic production contributes importantly to food security.

7. Second function: A source of livelihoods for many, but (1) a huge reservoir of poverty • 3 billion rural people,2.5 billion agricultural population, 1.3 billion agricultural labor force, 800 million smallholder population • 2.1 billion rural poor ($2/day), 900 million extreme rural poor ($1/day)

8. (2) With rising rural-urban income disparities in the transforming countries which are a source of political tensions The ratio of median urban to rural income has been rising in transforming countries

9. But agricultural growth has unique powers for poverty reduction GDP growth from agriculture benefits the poorest half 4 times more than GDP growth from non-agriculture

10. 3 worlds, 3 functions of agriculture for development • Message 1Accelerating aggregate growth in the agriculture-based countries (Sub-Saharan Africa) requires achieving a productivity revolution in smallholder farming • Message 2 Addressing the disparity problem in transforming countries requires a comprehensive approach to shift to high value agriculture, extend the green revolution to lagging regions, decentralize economic activity to rural areas, and help people move out of agriculture Urbanized countries: including smallholders in modern food markets and creating good rural jobs

11. Third function: An important user and often mis-user of natural resources • Agriculture uses 85% of water withdrawals and causes most of deforestation in developing countries • Contributes to global warming: 21% (up to 35%) of Green House Gas emissions

12. The high cost of weather dependency: The importance of climate proofing Zimbabwe’s GDP closely tracks rainfall under normal conditions

13. Message 3 Development an environment have become inextricably coupled Reducing agriculture’s large environmental footprint is an inevitable requirement for success, climate proofing of the farming systems of the poor is urgent, and providing environmental services can be one of the development contributions of agriculture Key for this are removing perverse input subsidies, better definition of property rights, wider use of conservation technologies, devolution to communities of control over common property resources, research and investments for farming system resilience, and developing markets for environmental services

14. WDR 2008-Agriculture for Development • Agriculture remains fundamental for development, and differentially by context • But the powers of agriculture are often under-used: why? • There are new opportunities to use agriculture that open multiple pathways out of poverty • With new (and lingering) challenges to be addressed • Differentiated agendas and improved governance

15. Under-use as global trade distortions remain pervasive Trade share losses to developing countries due to current global trade policies (% point loss to developing country trade shares)

16. Under-use as taxation of agriculture exports remains high in the agriculture-based and transforming countries Exportables Net taxation in the agriculture-based countries: 26% (1980-84) --> 10% (2000-04)

17. Under-use as public spending on agriculture is low in the agriculture-based countries relative to the share of agriculture in GDP Public spending on Ag/Ag GDP Ag GDP/GDP Transforming countries in 1980 had a much higher share of public spending on agriculture as a share of Ag GDP (10%) than the agriculture-based countries do today (4%) even though they had similar shares of agriculture in GDP

18. Mis-use is also pervasive: Subsidies are now four times larger than public investment in Indian agriculture

19. Under-use as donor support to agriculture has declined while rural poverty remained dominant % rural poverty % ODA to Ag With turning pointin ODA to agriculture after 2004

20. WDR 2008-Agriculture for Development • Agriculture remains fundamental for development, and differentially by context • But the powers of agriculture are often under-used • There are new opportunities to use agriculture that open multiple pathways out of poverty • With new (and lingering) challenges to be addressed • Differentiated agendas and improved governance

21. New opportunities to use agriculture for development last 25 years • Improved macro-economic conditions favorable to agricultural growth in SS-Africa • Dynamic demand for a “new agriculture” of high value products and non-traditional exports; expanding regional markets for staple foods • Institutional innovations: land administration, financial services, governance, producer organizations • Technological innovations: yields and resistance, IT, conservation agriculture, GMOs, breeds and vaccines • Expanding sources of income in the rural non-farm economy

22. Opportunities: New actors and new roles • A redefined role for the state and a new commitment to agriculture (NEPAD 10%) • Regulation, decentralization, and partnerships • Increasing role of the private and corporate sectors • Agribusiness and the supermarket revolution • Thickening of civil society • Rapid increase in producer organizations, role NGOs • A renewed donor interest in agriculture and new philanthropy  New opportunities for public-private-civil society partnerships in using agriculture for development, and a new political economy

23. Conclude: Opportunities open multiple pathways out of poverty for rural households • Pathways out of poverty: not by agriculture alone • Smallholder farming • Agricultural wage employment; wage and self-employment in the rural non-farm economy • Migration and remittances • Recognize important gender dimensions to each pathway at the household level

24. Message 4 Toward a comprehensive approach The new opportunities for agriculture open multiple pathways out of poverty for rural populations as commercial smallholders, workers in agriculture and the rural non-farm economy, and migrants. It is also providing opportunities to improve the livelihoods and food security of large numbers of subsistence farmers and unskilled farm workers

25. WDR 2008-Agriculture for Development • Agriculture remains fundamental for development, and differentially by context • But the powers of agriculture are often under-used • There are new opportunities to use agriculture that open multiple pathways out of poverty • With new (and lingering) challenges to be addressed • Differentiated agendas and improved governance

26. Improving governance to implement agriculture-for-development agendas • Weakness of governance as a hurdle • Governance weakest in agriculture-based countries • Governance weak in agriculture vs other sectors • Global governance needed for successful national agendas, but deficient • Improving governance at national, local, and global levels • National and local: Inter-sectoral coordination, Min of Ag., decentralization • Global: Coordinate sectoral agencies for complex and inter-related issues (trade, poverty and security, climate change, health, IPGs) • Coordinate with new corporate and philanthropic actors Message 5: Using agriculture for development requires fixing the current serious deficiencies in local, national, and global governance for agriculture

27. WDR 2008-Agriculture for Development • Agriculture remains fundamental for development, and differentially by context • But the powers of agriculture are often under-used • There are new opportunities to use agriculture that open multiple pathways out of poverty • With new (and lingering) challenges to be addressed • Requiring differentiated agendas and improved governance.

28. From opportunities to objectives: a policy diamond Socio political context Governance Macro fundamentals Agricultural policy 1 Access to markets Establish efficient value chain Demand for Ag products Demand for Ag products 4 Increase employment in agriculture and the RNFE; enhance skills 2 Enhance smallholder competitiveness Facilitate market entry Pathways out of poverty: farming, labor, migration Social transition Social transition 3 Improve livelihoods in subsistence agriculture and low skill rural occupations With indicators for diagnostic, monitoring, and evaluation

29. Part II: Implications of WDR 2008 strategy for access to land and land redistribution • First function of agriculture for development: Growth in agriculture-based countries • Access to land for market entry: Shift from subsistence farming to commercial smallholder • Land reform • Land redistribution • Subsidies to land purchase: LMALR • Land markets • Land sales market • Land rental market

30. Enhance the competitiveness of commercial smallholders • Security of property rights: certification of rights (Mexico, Ethiopia), customary tenure, conflict resolution, modern land administration • Determinants of total factor productivity • Level playing fields for smallholder competitiveness • Economies of scale and market access: producer organizations --> The challenge of “complete” land reforms

31. 2. Second function of agriculture for development: Poverty reduction value of access to land • Commercial smallholder pathway • Subsistence farming as platform for diversified household income strategy (RNFE, migration) • Land markets for exit/entry flexibility: • Shift to work in the rural nonfarm economy • Seasonal and permanent migration • Role of social safety nets as complements to markets (distress sales)

32. 3. Third function of agriculture for development: Environmental sustainability and provision of environmental services • Beyond poverty and land mining (role of farm size, water control): long term view (discount rate) • Property rights and markets for environmental services: common property resources, devolution, capacity to manage, local and global markets for services • Resilience of farming systems: climate proofing and adjustment to energy prices