Large-Scale Land Investments and Land-Use Change
Determinants and Impacts on Rural Development
Kacana Sipangule
Doctoral thesis
Date of Examination:
2018-01-26
Date of issue:
2018-02-06
Advisor:
Lay, Jann apl. Prof. Dr.
Referee:
Lay, Jann apl. Prof. Dr.
Referee:
Klasen, Stephan Prof. Dr.
Referee:
Thiele, Rainer Prof. Dr.
Persistent Address: http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-1735-0000-002E-E345-2
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PhD Dissertation - ...
Abstract
English
Smallholder agriculture is the mainstay of rural households in developing countries. In recent years, smallholder agriculture has been affected by the surge in large-scale farms that have acquired land in rural regions of developing countries as well as by rapid rural land-use conversion. Very few empirical studies analyze how rural development is affected by the encounter of smallholder and large-scale farming systems. This dissertation contributes to filling this research gap by analyzing how smallholders are affected by large–scale farms. Results presented in the chapters 2 to 5 of this dissertation suggest that under certain conditions proximity to large-scale farms can result in positive externalities on smallholders’ agricultural outcomes as well as their social capital, and competitive behavior. In addition, we observe smallholders’ tenure-security increases when large-scale farms reduce the share of land held in rural communities. To have a better understanding of the drivers of land-use change at the micro-level, in Chapter 6, we undertake a systematic review of 91 studies conducted on farm-households in tropical regions and find that smallholders’ access to endowments and capital are a key determinant of their land-use change -particularly the conversion of forests for agricultural purposes. This is a departure from older studies that identified demographic pressure and other macroeconomic factors such as agricultural commodity price fluctuations as the main drivers of smallholders’ land-use change. Based on the findings presented in the respective chapters of the dissertation, we recommend that better spatial and temporal data is necessary to investigate the empirical impacts of large-scale farms on smallholders’ outcomes as well as on their land-use decisions.
Keywords: Smallholders; Large-scale farms; Tenure security; Social capital; Competitiveness; Land-use change; Yields
