Family Land Research Articles

Refining the Florida ecological greenways network for improved landscape planning and conservation prioritization

ContextThe Florida Ecological Greenways Network (FEGN), established in the mid-1990s, was developed to combat habitat loss and fragmentation from rapid population growth. Over the past 30 years, the FEGN has been pivotal in identifying areas essential for biodiversity and ecosystem services to support conservation land acquisition programs including Florida Forever and the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. It also underpins the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act, demonstrating its critical role in shaping state legislation. Continuous updates to the FEGN have ensured its relevance by integrating new geospatial data and advanced modeling techniques.ObjectivesThis paper examines the methodology delineating and prioritizing the FEGN’s statewide ecological network. Using geospatial data to interface with environmental policy for strategic conservation planning, we demonstrate its cumulative importance for protecting the state’s biodiversity and ecosystem services.MethodsWe describe the data and methodological framework used to prioritize and refine the FEGN, including focal species, ecosystem services, connectivity models, and distribution of natural communities. We also compare the 2021 and 2016 versions of the FEGN to demonstrate the impact of updated data and land protection progress.ConclusionsOur findings emphasize the importance of regularly updating connectivity conservation plans to account for land use changes and advancements in geospatial modeling tools. The involvement of a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) has ensured objective data inclusion and building trust in the planning process. The FEGN provides essential guidance for stakeholders in landscape conservation planning, including government agencies, land trusts, and private landowners. The state legislature’s recognition and funding of the Florida Wildlife Corridor underscore the effectiveness of long-term scientific integration in conservation efforts.

Mythologizing the Lwa Demanbre

Abstract The importance of demanbre, the sacred plot of family land in Haiti, is undisputed, but the development of demanbre from land to lwa (an elevated Vodou spirit) has not yet been explored. Building upon the integrative approaches of Karen McCarthy Brown and Colin (Joan) Dayan, this study aims to demonstrate the cultural imagination of the Haitian people, not only through the recounting of history but through the interpretational probabilities, ambiguities, and complexities inherent in the Vodou worldview. In cases such as this, where the Haitian peasantry left behind no written records, it is necessary to use alternative means to ensure their voices are heard. It is with great respect for the seminal works of Brown and Dayan that I expand upon the possibility of mythologizing the origin of the lwa Demanbre, using an interdepartmental approach that combines history, anthropology, and the study of myth.

Enhancing Family Resilience and Environmental Conservation through Family Food Plant Cultivation

In the Jakarta area, the extensive replacement of green lands with concrete buildings have restricted the opportunity for family land ownership dedicated to conservation. This community service aims to develop motivation and a culture of planting to increase the knowledge, awareness, willingness, and ability of Family Welfare Empowerment (FWE) cadres and preschool teachers to preserve a culture of love for the environment and support family food security. The participants in this community service activity are FWE cadres and preschool teachers from the Jatinegara Kaum village. Conducted in August 2022 at the Child-friendly Integrated Public Space in Jatinegara Kaum, the project utilized the Participatory Action Research (PAR) method. Through descriptive analysis of the discussions, it was found that FWE cadres and preschool teachers actively engaged and showed their capability as pivotal agents in strengthening community resilience. This successful engagement underlines the potential for ongoing collaborative activities in community education and sustained support for the FWE cadres and preschool teachers.

UNVEILING ENTREPRENEURIAL ABILITY AMONG GIRL STUDENTS IN AGRICULTURE FACULTY

Empowering future leaders, the Agriculture Faculty ignites entrepreneurial spirit among its female students, fostering innovation and growth in agricultural ventures. The study is conducted in 10 Agriculture Colleges of four State Agricultural Universities of Gujarat with 300 respondents to find out the entrepreneurial ability of girls. Entrepreneurial ability refers to the skills, mindset, and capacity individuals possess to recognize opportunities, take calculated risks, and innovate to create and manage successful ventures or initiatives. It involves traits such as creativity, resilience, leadership, and strategic thinking, essential for navigating the challenges and uncertainties of entrepreneurship. The study revealed that more than two third (58.68 per cent) of the respondents were observed with medium level of entrepreneurial ability in youth farmers. There are positive association of entrepreneurial ability of the girl students with their type of family, parents' education, family land holding, family occupation, mass media exposure, relative owning business attitude towards agricultural entrepreneurship.

Difficulties in land regulation in Greater Lomé and Atakpamé. Contexts and explanatory factors

In Togo and particularly in greater Lomé and Atakpamé, we see that the State has difficulty regulating or controlling land. The objective of this article is to examine the factors that make land regulation difficult in Togo in general and in greater Lomé and Atakpamé in particular. To achieve this, the research used quantitative and qualitative approaches based respectively on questionnaire administration and individual interview techniques. For the quantitative survey, 208 landowners were interviewed in greater Lomé compared to 122 in Atakpamé. Concerning the qualitative approach, 24 resource people were interviewed in greater Lomé compared to 21 in Atakpamé. The results of the investigations showed that the non-registration of plots purchased in the cadastral service, the absence of land mapping, unconventional subdivisions, land speculation and the purchase of family land constitute factors which make regulation and management difficult. land security. To compensate for illegal urban practices and sustainably control land, it is necessary, in addition to existing measures, to adopt an inclusive and participatory approach which would bring populations, local elected officials and the state into a chain of collaboration.

Regulation of civil legal relations according to the Salic truth

The presented article is devoted to the analysis of the norms of the Salic Law which regulated civil legal relations of the Frankish society. The article notes that the Salic Law is a collection that was primarily devoted to the rules of criminal law and criminal procedure. Less attention was paid to the norms of civil law. This was due to the fact that the agricultural economy was not organized on a contractual basis. However, despite this, it contained rules that regulated property rights, obligations, marriage and family law, and inheritance law. The author has established that the Salic Law does not have a clear definition of property. The Franks retained communal ownership of land for a long time, as the rural neighborhood community, the marka, continued to exist despite the formation of the state. It is noted that at the end of the sixth century, the Franks formed a «full allod» – freely alienable land property, which was allowed to be freely given, transferred and bequeathed, including to women. A movable property was owned by families or individuals and could also be freely alienated and inherited. Based on the analysis of the norms of the Salic Law, the author found that the law of obligations was the least developed. There were such types of contracts as sale and purchase, exchange, gift, and loan. For a contract to be valid, in addition to the consent of the parties, it was necessary to observe various rites. As for marriage and family law, the article states that a legal marriage could be concluded between an adult free man and an adult free woman (no minimum age was set), subject to the consent of their relatives and provided that both parties were not bound by prohibited ties of kinship. Marriage was concluded through the purchase of a wife, i.e. power over her, from the person who had previously exercised this power over her. The grounds for invalidating a marriage were also defined. The author also analyzes the order of inheritance according to the Salic Law. It is established that the heirs in descending order were: children (and their descendants); mother and father; brothers and sisters; father’s sisters; mother’s sisters; father’s relatives (up to the sixth generation). Allodial land was а family land, it could not be inherited by females.

Time and title deeds in post-reform agrarian Kenya

AbstractThe ‘title deed fix’ – resurgent globally since the 1990s – is part of a wave of market-led agrarian reforms whose outcomes have been mixed. Kenya was the first African country to experiment – starting six decades ago and continuing today – with state-mandated formal land registration and private titling. Today it is among a handful to begin a transition to a digitized land registry. Behind both paper and electronic land documents, however, is a persistent temporal fiction that undergirds state-backed title registries – namely, a constructed present that is out of sync with intersecting biographical and structural temporalities, and that can efface socially recognized pasts, commitments or testimonials. We analyse some consequences of those temporal dissonances, unstable rights durations, and an ensuing limbo that can last decades, through family land stories shared with us during long-term ethnographic research in Kenya’s fertile central highlands. Especially vulnerable to temporal erasure and dispossession when title deed limbo spans decades are divorced or single women and their children, particularly as farmland and non-agricultural employment become more scarce and land markets overheat. Multitemporal family narratives powerfully illustrate why title deeds of any age are best taken as provisional truths rather than legal certainties, and why tenure security is an unstable and reversible process rather than a present or absent condition.

Something in these hills: The culture of family land in southern Appalachia By John M. Coggeshall. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2022. 238 pp.

Something in these hills: The culture of family land in southern Appalachia By John M. Coggeshall. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2022. 238 pp.

Customary Deprivation: Perceptions of Legatee in Igbo land and Female Property Crimes amongst Enugu Urban Inhabitants

This study aims to garner perceptions of Enugu inhabitants on the customary practice of property transfer to inheritors and its nexus to female property crimes (FPCs). Inheritance is an age-old practice which tends to favour male folks. Women have often been relegated to the kitchen. This practice is embedded in most African cultures where the birth of a male is valued over the birth of a female child. Denial of female rights of inheritance, denial of ownership of landed property, and female marginalization in almost all social institutions seem to stem from patriarchy which in turn tend to predispose women to property crimes. This study anchored on Relative Deprivation theory. Mixed method approach was adopted. Sampling of participant was based on multi-stage sampling procedure and purposive sampling. The sample size is 1015 for the quantitative part of the study and nine key informants for the qualitative aspect. This study found that the customary practice of legatee in Igbo land is embedded in patriarchy and this holds adverse economic effects for women, culminating in FPCs which involve women of youthful age who are mostly in full blown exposure of the existing privileges and cover offered to women in patriarchal societies especially when married. This study concludes that patriarchy understood as domination of vital social and political positions by men and exclusion of women from inheriting family lands and properties is implicit to FPCs.

Driving Factors for Agricultural Graduates’ Involvement in Agribusiness Enterprise in Nigeria

Eradicating the high level of youth unemployment remains a global challenge, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Youth involvement in agriculture, which could have lower unemployment, is low. Despite a high volume of literature on youth involvement in agriculture, agricultural graduates have received little research attention. Therefore, this study assessed agricultural graduate involvement in agribusiness enterprises to fill the research gap. Data were collected from 200 agricultural graduates who were randomly selected. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were methods of data analysis. The results revealed that, unlike other youths, agricultural graduates had a positive opinion about agriculture. Although about half were involved in agribusiness, almost all of them were willing to engage in it if supplied with production resources, especially land and capital for start-ups. Family land, access to credit, perceived benefits, attitudes, location, and gender significantly influenced agricultural graduates’ participation in agribusiness. To be self-employed and an employer, to be financially independent, to be food secure, due to access to land, due to access to credit, parental influence, satisfaction, and personal growth, and to continue the family business were the reasons why agricultural graduates became involved in agribusiness enterprises. On the other hand, lack of capital, lack of access to land, the risk involved in agriculture, poor agricultural pricing, poor agricultural support from the government, seeking a white-collar job, and peer influence were reasons why some agricultural graduates were not involved in agribusiness. Hence, agricultural graduates should be encouraged and supported with resources, especially arable land, and capital, by the government, development agencies, and financial institutions to ensure effective participation in agribusiness.

Assessment of the Effect of the Main Grain-Producing Areas Policy on China's Food Security.

Food provided a material foundation for the development of human society and was an important cornerstone for ensuring national security. The Chinese government has always attached great importance to food security, which is not only related to economic development and social stability but also to national security and self-reliance. As the core region for grain production and the supply of staple food in China, the major grain-producing areas account for 78.25% of the total national grain output, truly earning the title of China's "granary". Considering the establishment of 13 major grain-producing regions across the country in 2004 as a quasi-natural experiment, the impact of policies in major grain-producing regions on ensuring national food security is examined using a difference-in-differences method based on inter-provincial panel data for 30 provinces across the country from 1997 to 2020, and the mechanisms of their effects are further analyzed. The findings show that (1) the main producing-areas policy has a significant driving effect on China's food security, with an average annual increase of 0.0351 units in the food-security index, and the impact is expanding year by year. (2) The policy of the main grain-producing provinces mainly plays a role in guaranteeing food security by expanding the scale of grain cultivation and the scale of family land management in the main grain-producing provinces, and the scale effect of grain cultivation has a more significant impact. Further adjusting and improving the policy of the main grain-producing areas and expanding the scale-driven effect of this policy are of great significance for transforming agricultural production methods and realizing a strong agricultural country.

“[B]ury me with my fathers:” Seeking the Pastoral Relevance of Genesis 49:29 in the Nigerian Context

Jacob’s instruction to his children in Genesis 49:29 to bury him in Canaan finds relevance in Nigeria in the context of the importance attached to burial on ancestral land. In Nigeria, when it became unlawful to bury in residential areas, the emphasis shifted away from the ancestral land to burial in one’s country home. Hence, employing narrative analysis and the descriptive approach, the article examines the pastoral relevance of the text in contemporary Nigeria relative to burial on ancestral land. It finds that burial on ancestral land in ancient Israel and Nigeria served some socio-cultural purposes. In both contexts, the practice signifies that the deceased has died a good death. Burial sites are also a basis for asserting land rights, identity and belonging. The existence of the deceased’s tombs on the family land reflects the belief in an existing relationship between a people and their ancestors. The work concludes that while many aspects of the burial customs are no more relevant for contemporary Nigerian Christians, burying on the ancestral land still has socio-cultural values, such as inculcating regard for one’s community of origin, the need for regular reunion with relatives, and the importance of acceptable character. Therefore, in contemporary Nigeria, Genesis 49:29 is an appropriate passage for teaching these precepts during Christian burial services. Keywords: Jacob’s burial, Israelite burial customs, Ancestral veneration, Nigerian Christians and burial in the country home, Burial and character

M. И. Воротынский, Новосильский град и немилость государя

Introduction. The events of the second half of the XVI century, which unfolded around the town of Novosil, have a close connection with both the domestic and foreign policy situation that was relevant at that time. They were also connected with a number of not quite obvious aspects of the financial, administrative, status position of Prince Michael Vorotynsky. Tsar John Vasilyevich perceived him negatively, feared him as a potential "troublemaker", despite the obvious loyalty of the prince. This had a significant impact on the fate of this outstanding Russian politician and military commander and, as it seems, was closely connected with the fate of the family heritage of the Novosilsk lords. Materials and methods. The texts of the wills of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich and Prince Michael Vorotynsky, the messages to the prince and the tsar's reply messages on behalf of the prince to the leaders of Poland and Lithuania, information from Russian chronicles, data on the formation of military contingents, information of a historical and linguistic nature and the results of research on the era in question were used as source materials for the study. In this work, comparative-historical and system-analytical methods were used using an interdisciplinary approach. Results. The transfer of family lands into the possession of Michael Vorotynsky, issued as a "land exchange" with the sovereign, combined with the confiscation of property and the need to restore fortifications, as well as maintaining their combat readiness in the conditions of Crimean Tatar activity and the Livonian War, led to the actual ruin of the prince. The analysis of the published epistolary heritage of the epoch makes it possible to identify flaws in the generally accepted translation of the "correspondence of Ivan the Terrible" and to evaluate the semantic shades conveyed in it closely related to the city of Novosil in a slightly different way. Conclusions. The transfer, restoration and maintenance of the fortress of Novosilsk and a number of other fortifications at nonstate expense, the strengthening of the defense capability of the southern borders and the subsequent foreign policy epistolary registration of the status associated with them were part of a long intrigue against Prince Michael Vorotynsky, the author of which could be the Tsar of Russia Ivan Vasilyevich.

Вклад В. Г. Васильевского в изучение «Германии» Тацита в российском антиковедении

The research aims to deepen the understanding of the views of the famous Byzantinist V. G. Vasilevsky on the possibility of involving the work “Germania” by Tacitus (56-120 AD) to consider the causes of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire on the basis of Vasilevsky’s previously unused reports on research trips to Europe, lecture courses, as well as his handwritten biography by his student I. M. Grevs. The objectives of the research are to scientifically substantiate the significance of V. G. Vasilevsky’s contribution to the study of Tacitus in Russian classics. The paper examines how the works by the famous Russian Byzantinist and academician of the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Sciences V. G. Vasilevsky developed approaches to the study of the works by the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus, which had a significant impact on the interpretation of this author in the national historical tradition. It is shown that the Russian scientist was able to find new approaches to the source. He drew attention to the fact that one can find an indication of the disintegration of the agricultural community and the formation of an extremely unstable society of small family land ownership in Tacitus’ writings. Thus, V. G. Vasilevsky was one of the first to notice that we find the theme of the economic crisis as early as the beginning of the 2nd century AD. Scientific novelty consists in providing a new holistic picture of V. G. Vasilevsky’s activities as an expert in the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and, in particular, in the interpretation of Tacitus’ “Germania”. As a result, it has been found that despite the fact that V. G. Vasilevsky gained fame as a Byzantinist by the end of his life, the issues of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire interested him during his studies and he addressed them in his lecture activities. Thus, V. G. Vasilevsky’s scientific legacy can be supplemented by the theme of a new approach to Tacitus’ “Germania” as a source that marked the beginning of the social and economic crisis in the Western Roman Empire.

Women farmers’ access to marshlands for agricultural food production in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Land is a crucial resource in agricultural food production and serves as a symbol of wealth, power, and identity for rural communities. Yet, the persistent gender gap in accessing land and other productive resources has resulted in the poor performance of largely female-dominated smallholder agriculture. This study applies a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data from 232 participants to increase understanding of how women farmers access land for agricultural production in Kabare and Mulungwishi marshlands in the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. We articulate our research around these questions: (i) How do women access land and perceive land tenure security in marshlands? (ii)What are the sources of inequality in land access patterns in marshlands, as perceived by women farmers? (iii) What factors affect women's desire to own or acquire farmland?The findings show significant differences in patterns of women's access to land, its size, and the perception of land tenure in the two regions. Women farmers interviewed are aware of gender inequalities firmly rooted in each area's customs and cultural norms, which tend to give men more opportunities to access and control family land resources.Interestingly, a considerable proportion of women (11%) often expressed a desire for land ownership, with marital status, household size, and income generated per cropping season being the significant predictors. The findings provide insights into women's pathways, determinants of acquiring land, and related challenges. Findings call for policy interventions to strengthen women's empowerment and prioritize their access to productive resources.

Transformation of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Kenyan Coastal Region: Traditional Healing, Witchcraft and Witch Hunts in a Contemporary Context

The intangible heritage of Coastal Kenya pertains in great part to the Mijikenda people and consists of ceremonies, rituals, beliefs, forms of healing, prayer, and adjudication of disputes, which are subject to various cultural and religious factors that affect their perception and transform them. The younger generation’s perception of them, influenced by modern life’s technologized approach to culture, hugely contributes to such transformations. As a result, cultural roots fall into oblivion, which sometimes has dramatic effects, for example, the abandonment of witch hutching, paradoxically causing negative social effects. Not following traditional practices is not equal to disbelief in witches. Therefore, it often occurs that someone is accused of witchcraft to kill them without any possibility of reconciliation with the community, because the rejection of traditional practices causes the lack of any remediation for an instance of witchcraft, and elicits the easiest solution: the death of the accused. Such events happen to be combined with economic reasons, like the desire of some members of the youngest generation to sell the family land or even the sacred forest, in the care of the elders, who are then usually the ones accused as witches. This kind of cultural knot, appearing in the last 150 years due to interference of various cultures and religions, especially Christianity, requires careful consideration, also given the importance of interfaith dialogue, supported by the Coast Interfaith Council of Clerics Trust (CICC), among others. This investigation on transformation of cultural practices in Coastal Kenya is based on in-depth interviews with representatives of Malidni District Cultural Association (MADCA), field research and conversations with elders, and a review of research materials provided by the National Museums of Kenya Library in Malindi, and the Pwani University Library in Kilifi, Kenya.

Women in dry fish processing activities: an in-depth study of a selected coastal region of Bangladesh

ABSTRACT This research adopted an exploratory mixed methods approach to explore women's participation, its associated determinants, causes, and obstacles to participation in dry fish processing in a selected coastal region of Bangladesh. Data were collected using structured interviews, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions with women residing in six coastal villages. Extreme poverty, supporting family expenditure, and bearing children's educational expenses drive women's participation in dry fish processing activities. Multiple regression analysis indicates that intra-family empowerment status, self-confidence, personal income, family land ownership, and family size can significantly explain women's participation in dry fish processing. It was also discovered that women worked long hours in dry fish processing and were underpaid compared to men workers. The major obstacles to participation were physical hazards, low salary payment, seasonality of work, and low social status of the job. This study recommends strategies to improve the status of women’s participation in dry fish processing.

Contribution of Land Tenure Changes in Empowering Maasai Women Pastoralists in Resources Management: A Case Study of Elangatwuas Ward, Kajiado County, Kenya

This research explores the contribution of land tenure changes in empowering Maasai women pastoralists in resource management. The study focuses on understanding the benefits and challenges of land subdivision for Maasai women, examining changes in decision-making processes at the household and community levels, exploring shifts in gender roles and resource access, and assessing the overall empowerment of Maasai women through land tenure changes. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining qualitative data collection methods such as interviews and focus group discussions with quantitative surveys. The study findings reveal significant positive impacts of the land subdivision on Maasai women's empowerment. The benefits identified include reduced cases of husbands being polygamous, increased chances of women's involvement in business and employment, equal chances for male and female children to inherit and own family land, increased ability to undertake projects on the land, and the freedom for women to own their own livestock. These changes have provided women with increased decision-making power within households and communities, allowing them to participate in determining land use, livestock management, education for children, and building family houses. Despite the progress, challenges remain, including conflicts over land inheritance, limited knowledge of legal rights among illiterate girls, and smaller grazing areas for livestock. However, the research concludes that overall, land tenure changes have empowered Maasai women by enabling them to engage in business, acquire education, own livestock, and own land. The results highlight the importance of recognizing and strengthening women's rights in land and resource management to achieve gender equity and sustainable development in pastoralist communities. This research contributes to the understanding of the transformative potential of land tenure changes in empowering Maasai women pastoralists and informs strategies for promoting gender equity and sustainable resource management in similar contexts.

How can migration unequalize inheritance: Theory and insights from Bolivia

Indian communities in Latin America, like in the Middle East and other regions of the world, tend to have rules of equal inheritance. Yet, migration can transform ex ante egalitarian rules into unequal ex post practices. In this paper, based on evidence collected at both sides of the migration link in Bolivia, we find that the unequalization process caused by migration tends to paradoxically harm poor migrants from egalitarian communities who are driven to voluntarily forfeit their inheritance. To resolve the puzzle, we propose a novel theory placed in the framework of strategic exchange but where the migration decision is endogenized: upon migration, children take into account the prospect of potentially losing access to family land if they are unable to fulfill their care obligations. Voluntary exclusion from inheritance is especially likely if the value of rural public goods is low, farm output per capita is small, and the wages in the urban modern sector are high compared to those in the informal sector. The main policy implication is the following: a more equal pattern of economic growth, along both the rural–urban and the intersectoral intra-urban dimensions, helps minimize the disruption of rural families and communities, which play an important social insurance function.

Land tenure and investment in productive inputs in Ghanaian cocoa farming: A generalised structural equation modelling approach

Food insecurity and poverty are major barriers to economic growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa, especially Ghana. Pursuing sustainable agricultural development through the promotion of agricultural innovations and investment in productive inputs is one of the surest approaches to addressing these barriers. However, land tenure issues are threat to a widespread of agricultural innovations and land-related investments. Using cross-sectional data from 400 cocoa farmers in southern Ghana, we analyse the relationship between land tenure systems and investment decision in farm inputs and evaluate factors influencing the land tenure decision of cocoa farmers simultaneously using a generalised structural equation model. We find that socioeconomic characteristics such as residence status, ethnicity and location differences explain farmers’ land tenure choices. Compared to farmers who owned land title, we find that farmers operating on family lands or sharecropping invest less in hybrid cocoa seedlings, fertiliser, land, and labour. The findings suggest the need to strengthen the customary land tenure system to improve land tenure security to enable land users to invest in long-term land productivity measures.