CHANGES IN LAND POLICY

After many years of neglect and lack of investment in rural development, land has returned to both international and national policy agendas. Internationally land has become an issue due to the increasing recognition that it is interlinked with so many issues of human rights and other concerns, such as HIV/AIDS.

National agendas have also been increasingly focused on land reform in particular in Africa. There has been an increasing recognition of landlessness and the need for proper use of land for poverty alleviation , coupled with an ever increasing pressure on governments from institutions such as the World Bank to strengthen individual property rights and develop markets in land.

LAND REFORM refers to a reform of the land tenure system, a restricting of ownership and tenancy rights. Land reform may take on many models and affect many aspects of land – usually, land reform affects LAND ADMINISTRATION, LAND USE PLANNING and DISTRIBUTION OF LAND. AGRARIAN REFORM is a type of land reform that also include state imposed changes in types of crops planted, methods of production, credit or rural extension services.

Heavy debate exists around the merits of MARKET LED MODELS OF LAND REFORM vs STATE LED MODELS. There is no conclusive evidence, however, that either have been useful for women.

This has for the most part been due to a non-recognition of women’s interests in land, and a neglect of women’s needs. In traditional land reform models, women have largely been categorized as subsets of men. Land reform has traditionally given men more power over land, serving to subordinate women’s role even further.