Land Investment Research Articles

Albania: The impact of economic and fiscal policy in the agricultural sector

The development of the agricultural and rural sector is and has been throughout the history of the Albanian governments of importance for the economy, employment, but also wellbeing for Albania, given that this large sector currently contributes 18.4% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and in the labor, market has a share of 36.1% of total employees. Investments in technology and innovative cultivation methods have significantly improved productivity rates over the 30-year period, as well as added value per worker. Growing exports, mainly to the European Union market are constantly increasing and new trade opportunities are emerging for the organized units of the sector. This could make the sector even more attractive for foreign investment. Given the problems that have accompanied the economic model and doing business in the agricultural sector, one of the major challenges for quality development remains the reform of the real estate regime, including agricultural land. This reform process, starting from law 20/2020, which aims to consolidate the property rights over agricultural land, is foreseen to be finalized at the end of 2028. Tax policy affects agricultural competitiveness through its impact on the levels and variability of farm incomes, agricultural workers, land investments and technology, on labor value and other activities related to the sector. Taxes on income, property and land, and capital transfers may affect structural changes, while differential tax rates on specific activities, resources, or use of inputs may affect sustainability. In this regard, in addition to tax policy, regulatory policies have a parallel impact, related to the adoption of farm regulatory practices. Given the great impact it has agriculture on the economy and the sustainability of the rural population, central government and local government stay focused in encouraging agricultural production through interventions towards higher levels of productivity and quality, as well as regulatory and tax policies.

Відповідальні інвестиції у землеволодіння та землекористування в Україні: міжнародна практика регулювання

In 2021, a free agricultural land market was opened in Ukraine. So, an increase in investments in the acquisition of agricultural land in Ukraine is expected, which actualizes social problems, particularly guaranteeing the rights of peasants, small producers and small farmers, vulnerable groups of the population, women, and rural youth to own and use land. The risks of land investments for the Ukrainian economy are associated with the loss of a small landowner, the displacement of the farming system, an increase in rural unemployment, violation of the rights of rural communities, and the destruction of the rural living environment. The purpose of the study is to substantiate recommendations for Ukraine based on an analysis of international experience in regulating the processes of attracting responsible land investment and highlighting the basic principles of responsible investment in agriculture and food systems. The main international documents on responsible investments in the implementation of large-scale land projects were analyzed. It has been established that foreign investment in land tenure and land use in Ukraine is associated with high demand due to the availability of supply of agricultural land and the opening of a land sale and purchase market, the transformation of natural resources into commercial assets, a corruption component, and uncertainty with the value of the land. The necessity of the following steps has been substantiated: а) development of recommendations for responsible investment in land tenure and land use; b) introduction of the concept of “responsible land investment” into the national legislative field; c) development of a system for regulating investment activity based on international standards. The author suggested recognizing family farmers, small owners, and small producers, especially women, rural youth, rural residents, as the main responsible investors in the field of land use in Ukraine.

Rural Transformation in Various Ecosystem in Indonesia

The agricultural and rural sectors in Indonesia have experienced a dynamic transformation. This process of transformation reflected the changes in employment and income structure. This paper analyzes the changes in employment, income structures, and dietary patterns in various ecosystems, namely wetland paddy, dry land secondary, vegetables, and plantation. We use micro panel data collected from 1,155 rural households in 8 provinces, and 33 villages in Java and off-Java in 2007-2012 and 2016 -2018. The results showed that the share of agriculture employment decreased from 89.1 % in 2007 to 56.7 % in 2016 in the wetland paddy ecosystem, and the reverse was true for non-agricultural employment. Household income from agriculture was still dominant but showed a decreasing trend. The share of agriculture income declined; the most significant decline is in the wetland paddy ecosystem. Furthermore, a nonfarm income also tends to increase. Share of cereal consumption expenditure tends to decrease while processed foods and instant drinks tend to grow. For accelerating agricultural and rural transformation, government policy should focus on investment in rural infrastructure, promote labor and land markets, and build capacity building based on the need for a different ecosystem of the rural population.

Transparency for Whom? Grounding Land Investment Transparency in the Needs of Local Actors

Transparency for Whom? Grounding Land Investment Transparency in the Needs of Local Actors

Impacts of Population Pressure on Agricultural Production and Farming Practices of Households: The Case of Essera Woreda in Dawro Zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia

Agricultureasaprimaryeconomicactivityisthemajoreconomicbaseoftheworld’spopulation. Agriculture as a primary economic activity is the major economic base of the world’s population. More than 60 percent of the world population depends on agriculture for their livelihood. This study was conducted in Dawuro Zone Essera district achieve the general objective that assessed the impacts of population growth on agricultural production and farming practices. Essera district is 102,848, of whom 51.35% are male and 48.64% are female. This district falls into three agro-ecological regions, of which, kolla within (500-1500masl), weina-dega within (1501-2500 masl) and Dega above (> 2500 masl). To conduct this study, the cross-sectional survey design with the application of both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed. The study involved a multistage sampling, i.e. a combination of purposive, stratified, and simple random sampling procedures to select the study area and sample households. To draw the samples, the households in the study area, Stratified random sampling technique was applied to collect information from respondents. Study area districts stratified into 3 stratums based on agro ecological zone, after this stratification in agro-ecological zone, kebeles that study has been undergone, selected purposively. That is kola whose elevation ranges from 1000m-1500m above sea level, woynadega whose elevation ranges from 1500m-2000m above sea level, and dega whose elevation ranges from 2000-3000m above sea level. Data that was made available through different instruments was analyzed using quantitative and qualitative techniques. Different tables, maps and figures were also used to illustrate the various aspects of the study. In the light of the theories considered and the finding of the study indicated, both the population pessimistic views of Malthusians and neo Malthusians and the optimistic views of Boserupian could not separately provides the complete explanations regarding the population and agricultural production relationship of this study. It was observed that, increase in population growth of the area associated with an increase in usage of modern inputs which increase in total crop outputs in general and yields for some crop types such as cereals in particular. Moreover, labor intensive land investment practices including tree planting; terracing, manuring croplands were increasingly under taking by peasants as result of rapid change in population size of the area. Farmers have to be advised to plant tree at area far away from land serving agricultural activities.

'As to the Land, Buy by All Means' – the Hampshire Estate of William Cobbett (1763–1835)

William Cobbett, the political writer and reformer, made extensive property purchases in Hampshire during the early 1800s but his investment in land resulted in financial ruin, rather than the political independence and financial security that he had sought. Within about 15 years, his farms had been repossessed by the mortgagee and he had been made bankrupt. This article will consider his landownership in southern Hampshire in detail. It will not only identify his principal land holdings, and the uses to which he put the land, but also consider the factors that drove him to buy land, the complex manner in which he financed his purchases, and the wider significance of his land ownership, in terms of his career as a political writer and reformer.

Effects of Land Certification for Rural Farm Households in Ethiopia: Evidence from Gozamin District, Ethiopia

Economic theory notes tenure security is a critical factor in agricultural investment and productivity. Therefore, several African countries’ development initiatives enabled land titling to enhance tenure security. This paper examines the effect of land certification on tenure security, land investment, crop productivity and land dispute in Gozamin District, Ethiopia. In addition, the impact of land certification on farm households’ perceptions and confidence in land tenure and land use rights is investigated. Face-to-face interviews with 343 randomly selected farm households, group discussions and expert panels are the sources of primary data. Quantitative data are analyzed using various statistical tools and complemented by qualitative data. According to the results, most farm households (56%) feel that their land use rights are secure after the certification process. Only 17% fear that the government at any time could take their land use rights. The majority of farm households (71.7%) identified a reduction of disputes after certification and land management practices improved from 70.3% before certification to 90.1% after certification. As key factors for the increase of terracing and the application of manure, the study determined total farm size, the average distance from farm to homestead, perception of degradation, access to credit, training to land resource management, fear about land take-over by the government and total livestock holdings. Crop productivity improved significantly after land certification. The results should encourage policy makers to minimize the sources of insecurity, such as frustrations of future land redistribution and land taking without proper land compensation. Land certification is the right tool for creating tenure security, enhancing farmers’ confidence in their land rights and—supported by a proper land use planning system—improving land-related investments and crop productivity.

Agriculture in the City of Jerusalem "The Ayyubid period" as a model (583H - 648H / 1187 - 1250): الزراعة في مدينة القدس "العهد الأيوبي" أنموذجاً (583هـ-648هـ/1187م-1250)

This study deals with the talk about agriculture in the city of Jerusalem, "the Ayyubid era as a model, which was represented in the study of agriculture and its conditions in terms of the nature of the land and the conditions of agriculture in the city of Jerusalem, and talked about the land used in that era, methods of land investment, irrigation sources and methods. The study discussed the most important crops produced in the city of Jerusalem, and then mentioned the most important animals and machinery used by the farmers in the city. The researcher has sought in this study to adopt the information contained in this study from considerable primary sources, despite the lack of resources and studies that dealt with the subject, and the researcher has proven in this study the reality and importance of agriculture in the city of Jerusalem in particular, and this is what the researcher stated contrary to what the Israeli occupation claims that Palestine was a barren country without agriculture.

Peasant households’ land use decision-making analysis using social network analysis: A case of Tantou Village, China

Abstract In a long historical period, the social network based on kinship and neighborhood played an important role in the rural society of China. China's rural revitalization policy has brought rural development into a new era. In this research, we have explored whether the characteristics of the traditional rural social network have changed in the current period, and whether and how the social network, as an informal system, affects peasant households' land use decisions. We used social network analysis to portray the characteristics of peasant households' social network and adopted network autocorrelation analysis to test whether the social network affects peasant households' land use decision-making, and finally employed regression models to revel the mechanism among the social network, livelihoods, and peasant households' land use decision-making. Our research results showed that the social network of peasant households based on kinship and neighborhood was featured by subgroups and small-world phenomenon, indicating that the pattern of traditional rural social relationships has not changed. Besides, our results also revealed that the social network influences peasant households' land use decision-making by making it more similar, that is, the decision-making presented peer effects. In peer effects, the influence of the neighborhood network was greater than that of the kinship network, and when the social relationship reached the fourth-order, peer effects would no longer exist. Furthermore, the social network can not only regulate the simplification and food-crop preference of planting structure caused by livelihood changes but also directly reduces the food crop proportion and increases land investment intensity. Our research results emphasize the importance of using peasant households' social networks to guide land use in the process of rural revitalization to better implement agricultural policies.

The parable of arable land: Characterizing large scale land acquisitions through network analysis.

Land is a scarce resource and its depletion is related to a combination of demographic and economic factors. Hence, the changes in dietary habits and increase in world population that upturn the food demand, are intertwined with a context of increasing oil prices and rise of green capitalism that in turn impacts the demand in biofuel. A visible indicator of these phenomena is the increase, in recent years, of Large Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLAs) by private companies or states. Such land investments often lead to conflicts with local population and have raised issues regarding people’s rights, the role of different production models and land governance. The aim of this work is to show how publicly available data about LSLAs can be modeled into complex network structures, thus showing how the application of advanced network analysis techniques can be used to better understand land trade dynamics. We use data collected by the Land Matrix Initiative on LSLAs to model three land trade networks: a multi-sector network, a network centered on the mining sector and a network centered on the agriculture one. Then we provide an extended analysis of such networks which includes: (i) a structural analysis, (ii) the definition of a score, namely LSLA-score, which allows to rank the countries based on their investing/target role in the land trade network, (iii) an analysis of the land trade context which takes into account the LSLA-score ranking and the correlation between network features and several country development indicators, (iv) an analysis centered on the discover and analysis of network motifs (i.e., recurring patterns in the land trade network), which provides insights into complex and diverse relations between countries. Our analyses showed how the land trade market is massively characterized by a Global North-Global South dynamic, even if the investing power of emerging economies also has a major impact in creating relations between different sub-regions of the world. Moreover, the analyses on the mining and agriculture sectors highlighted how the role of several countries in the trade network may drastically change depending of the investment sector, showing diverse hierarchies between investor, intermediate and target countries.

GLOBAL LARGE-SCALE LAND INVESTMENT IN AFRICA: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

The attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Africa will depend in part on its endowment, productivity and management of the land resource. Thus, due to the multipurpose usage of the land, there is more interest in its acquisition and usage, which often lead to competition among investors. More so, the intensive use of land for economic activities often impacts on the environment. This has implication for the target countries’ sustainable development. It is on this basis that this study investigates the effects of large-scale land investments on the environment. The study adopts the sample selection model to find that at the decision to invest, there is the tendency the environment gets more deplorable while the foreign investors sustainably use the land and this is not the case for domestic investors. At the actual large-scale land investment level, the foreign large-scale land investment has adverse effects on the environment, but they maintain sustainable use of land, while the domestic large-scale investment negatively impacts on both the environment and the sustainable land use. Climate change impeded the availability of large-scale land. Thus, although the large-scale land investments could mitigate the challenges of national food insecurity, there should be intense efforts by the government to continuously monitor and regulate the activities of these investors to conform with global environmental best practices.

Geo-Environmental Changes and Their Impact on the Development of the Limestone Plateau, West of Assiut, Egypt

One of the important projects that the Egypt country seeks to implement is the desert areas development, which contributes significantly to agricultural and urban development. Development of desert areas, especially agricultural development, should be carried out scientifically in terms of the use of available water resources, irrigation methods according to the type of soil and taking the geo-environmental risks into consideration. The objective of this research is to assess the geo-environmental impact in the region under consideration and their effect on their natural components during their development phases. Estimating the rate of land-use/land-cover changes in the area is extremely important for the management of natural resources. Remote sensing and GIS techniques have been used to process the geological, topographical, land-use/land-cover and also locating high-risk areas that could be affected by flash flooding. This study showed that the study area comprises three land-cover classes: urban, agricultural and barren land. The expansion in the agricultural and residential areas was estimated from the Landsat satellite images from 1984 to 2018. The results had deduced the reasons for increasing the agricultural area and the validity of the western plateau lands for agricultural reclamation as well as land investment for residential projects such as Nasser city. The results indicate that the vegetated land increased by 9.68% and urban land by 3.17% after reclamation efforts were initiated.

Large‐scale land investments, household displacement, and the effect on land degradation in semiarid agro‐pastoral areas of Ethiopia

Agro-pastoral areas in Ethiopia have been targeted by large-scale land investments, particularly for the establishment of sugar plantations, since the 1970s. This has led to the displacement of local communities. We investigate the impact of this displacement due to large-scale land investment on land degradation in semiarid agro-pastoral areas in Ethiopia. We conducted a survey of 866 households in two agro-pastoral sites in Ethiopia in 2019, where extensive large-scale land investment was implemented. We use an endogenous (switching) treatment model to assess the effect of the displacement of households on land degradation. The result shows that 75% of the surveyed households experienced moderate–severe land degradation. Forestlands and grasslands are ranked as the most degraded areas. About 43.7% of the households face a reduction in herd size and 55.8% lost land due to large-scale land investment, while 86% of the households show a substantial decline in crops and livestock productivity due to land degradation. The results also reveal that the displacement of households leads to a significant increase in land degradation. Household exposure to drought and conflict, the number of livestock, overgrazing, and sharecropping are other drivers of land degradation. Market access, extension services, household income, and mobility, on the other hand, limit the occurrence of land degradation. We conclude that the shifts in property rights from common land used by pastoralists to private land in large-scale plantations aggravate land degradation in semiarid drylands.

“Buying the Air” – Planning and Land Policy Interventions for Hybrid High-Rises in Frankfurt am Main

Frankfurt am Main is well-known for its financial centre of Europe and recognised as the German city with the highest concentration of high-rise buildings (“skyline”). For several years now, this construction class has also been discovered for hotel, residential and hybrid usages. After the events of 9/11, high-rise construction came to a standstill worldwide. Which domestic and international developer would want to build the highest high-rise as an investment landmark in a city? Instead, smaller residential towers at a height of 60–80 m were preferred by investors. Twenty years later, the completion of an initial 15 hybrid-use high-rise towers in the city of Frankfurt am Main is expected by the year 2023. Other German cities such as Berlin, Hamburg and Dusseldorf are following similar strategies to implement vertical allocations of property rights in towers embedded in selected privately owned (semi-)public spaces. The amenities include arcades, pocket parks, seating areas, landscape terraces, rooftop bars and swimming pools. We will discuss the renaissance of high-rises, which is a market-based and marketing-based approach following the monetary policy of the European Central Bank, wooing investors at a time of unprecedented speed of construction of tall, particularly hybrid, buildings. In the case study of the ‘Four’ inner-city revitalisation project, located on plots formerly known as ‘ the forbidden town’ of Frankfurt as this area was blocked to the public for decades, we will pay particular attention to the planning department’s right to regulate. The findings presented here are the result of scientific project work conducted in 2019–2020. The local government has imposed a 30% mandatory quota for affordable, subsidised housing rents and price reduced condominiums as legally binding requirements for tower constructions to prevent vertical gated communities. Our essay deals with the central areas of real estate development: land and capital investment.

Vernacularisation from above: finance’s appropriation of human rights in land governance

ABSTRACT The 2007/2008 triple crisis (finance, food and environment) prompted a new wave of land grabbing characterised by its financial dimension. In response, land governance initiatives have been implemented to regulate the social and environmental impacts of large-scale land investments. These initiatives use a human rights framework, but they remain disputed. In addition, they narrow down the relationship between finance and human rights to a subsidiary responsibility, suggesting that finance only influences human rights indirectly. In contrast, we put forward the concept of ‘vernacularisation from above’ to show that financial actors directly appropriate human rights in order to better serve their interests. By focusing on three land governance initiatives, we discuss how they tackle the issue of land access. We argue that financial actors impose a definition of land access in terms of land rights instead of recognizing the human right to land. Such a definition does not challenge unequal power relations related to land grabbing.

Реформування земельних відносин в Україні: досвід зарубіжних країн

Theoretical and practical approaches to the formation of land market in Ukraine are considered in the article. The views of scientists and practitioners on the problem of creating land market are summarized. It has been proven that land market is vital for agriculture and rural residents. It allows using land as collateral for agricultural enterprises. It is a source of income for farmers and allows land to move to a more efficient owner. It is investigated that during the transformations in the agricultural sector of Ukraine, the state monopoly on land was abolished, agricultural enterprises were privatized, new market structures were created, that is preconditions were created for the introduction of market land turnover and formation of the secondary market of agricultural land. Today it is obvious that further regulation of land relations is needed to ensure effective development of newly created economic agricultural formations. The lack of a real market for agricultural land hinders their efficient distribution and restrains long-term investment in land and agriculture in general. The history of reforming land relations of foreign countries is analyzed and systematized. Peculiarities of land markets formation and organization of lease land relations in the countries of the world are shown. It is studied that the state regulation of the agricultural land market of the EU member states is aimed at preserving land, preventing excessive concentration or fragmentation of land, sale of land primarily to farmers who have experience in agricultural production and live in the area. The issue of the land market is especially acute for countries with economies in transition, including Ukraine. Of particular note is the lease of agricultural land, which is the main form of land relations in many countries. The need to apply positive foreign experience in creating a market for agricultural land in Ukraine is indicated.

Hydrogeology of Volcanic Highlands Affects Prioritization of Land Management Practices

Volcanic highlands supply water to 40% of the world’s population. Soil degradation threatens this water supply. Studies on geohydrology that affect the effectiveness of land and water management (LWM) practices in reducing soil degradations are limited. To aid in the effectiveness of LWM practices, we conducted a field experiment in the Gomit watershed in the semihumid Ethiopian Highlands on the interaction of hydrogeology and LWM practices. We found that in a watershed with strongly faulted tertiary basalt, 30% of the rainfall was drained through faults to another basin. Consequently, the discharge at the outlet was less than half of that of other watersheds with quaternary basalts. Despite the high sediment concentration, i.e., around 15 g L−1, in the Gomit watershed, the sediment yield of less than 4 Mg ha−1 a−1 was below average for the agricultural watershed in Ethiopia because of the low runoff response. While some faults facilitated drainage, others acted as a barrier. Groundwater stored behind the barriers was used as a municipal potable water source. Since the effectiveness of LWM practices depends on the amount of erosion that can be prevented, considerations of country-wide prioritizing of investments in land and water management practices should include the geology of the watersheds.

The Price of Farmland as a Factor in the Sustainable Development of Czech Agriculture (A Case Study)

Each year, around 2% of the four million hectares of farmland in Czechia changes owners. However, after years of significant growth in prices, a slowdown in pace and demand is expected. Rising interest rates, a strengthening of the crown and legislative changes in 2018 have influenced the price of farmland. Yet the prices of farmland in Czechia are a third of those in the countries of Western Europe, and so it still represents an interesting opportunity for investors. Currently, land is bought primarily by the farmers who work it. In Czechia, 80% of farmers farm on hired land, and rent increases are starting to be an issue for many of them. The return on the investment in agricultural land is currently around 50 years for an owner and 25 years for a farmer working the land. As research has shown, the price of farmland is an important factor in the sustainable development of agriculture in Czechia, along with the greening of production and the fight against soil erosion and the effects of climate change.

Is investment in Indigenous land and sea management going to the right places to provide multiple co-benefits?

ABSTRACT Indigenous land and sea management (ILSM) has been the focus of large government investment in Australia and globally. Beyond environmental benefits, such investments can deliver a suite of social, cultural and economic co-benefits, aligning with the objectives of Indigenous communities and of governments for culturally appropriate socio-economic development. Nevertheless, there have been very few studies done on the spatial distribution of this investment and the extent to which its associated co-benefits address socio-economic disadvantage, which is unevenly distributed across Australia. This study draws on Australian ILSM programmes to examine the spatial and temporal distribution of investment for ILSM between 2002–2012 and considers implications for the distribution of associated co-benefits. Mapping and analysis of 2600 conservation projects revealed that at least $462M of investment in ILSM projects had occurred at 750 discrete sites throughout Australia. More than half of this investment in ILSM has been concentrated in northern Australia, in disadvantaged remote and very remote areas where a high percentage of the population is Indigenous, and Indigenous land ownership extensive. Our research has shown that ILSM investment has successfully been spatially distributed to areas with high needs for multiple social, economic, environmental and health and well-being co-benefit outcomes.

Tropical forest loss enhanced by large-scale land acquisitions

Tropical forests are vital for global biodiversity, carbon storage and local livelihoods, yet they are increasingly under threat from human activities. Large-scale land acquisitions have emerged as an important mechanism linking global resource demands to forests in the Global South, yet their influence on tropical deforestation remains unclear. Here we perform a multicountry assessment of the links between large-scale land acquisitions and tropical forest loss by combining a new georeferenced database of 82,403 individual land deals—covering 15 countries in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia—with data on annual forest cover and loss between 2000 and 2018. We find that land acquisitions cover between 6% and 59% of study-country land area and between 2% and 79% of their forests. Compared with non-investment areas, large-scale land acquisitions were granted in areas of higher forest cover in 11 countries and had higher forest loss in 52% of cases. Oil palm, wood fibre and tree plantations were consistently linked with enhanced forest loss while logging and mining concessions showed a mix of outcomes. Our findings demonstrate that large-scale land acquisitions can lead to elevated deforestation of tropical forests, highlighting the role of local policies in the sustainable management of these ecosystems. Tropical deforestation rates are linked to large-scale land investments, according to georeferenced land deal records and remote sensing of forest loss over the past two decades.