Sustainable agricultural development strategies in fragile lands

Current trends in demography, agricultural production and rural environment in the developing countries suggest that so-called marginal lands must play a larger and probably growing role in food supply and economic development for the foreseeable future. To fulfill this critical role, public policy...

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Autores principales: Scherr, Sara J., Hazell, Peter B. R.
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 1994
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156857
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author Scherr, Sara J.
Hazell, Peter B. R.
author_browse Hazell, Peter B. R.
Scherr, Sara J.
author_facet Scherr, Sara J.
Hazell, Peter B. R.
author_sort Scherr, Sara J.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Current trends in demography, agricultural production and rural environment in the developing countries suggest that so-called marginal lands must play a larger and probably growing role in food supply and economic development for the foreseeable future. To fulfill this critical role, public policy towards these lands needs to be revised. A key policy focus should be to strengthen incentives for local land users to not only maintain, but to improve the natural resource base for food and fiber supply. Such land-improving investments" are needed to reduce production and subsistence risks and permit more intensive use without degradation. Under population and market pressure, one can expect an endogenous process of intensification, through land improvements, tenurial and institutional changes and "re-ordering" of the landscape. But this process is not automatic. Factors influencing the pace and scale of land transformation include: farmer knowledge of degradation of the degrading resource; incentives for long-term investment; capacity to mobilize resources for land investment; level of economic returns to such investment; and factors affecting the formation and function of local groups to help mobilize resources and coordinate landscape-level change. Current policies often work to constrain, rather than support, this process. New research is needed to support policy change for "marginal" lands.
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spelling CGSpace1568572025-11-06T06:27:07Z Sustainable agricultural development strategies in fragile lands Scherr, Sara J. Hazell, Peter B. R. land use economic aspects investment Current trends in demography, agricultural production and rural environment in the developing countries suggest that so-called marginal lands must play a larger and probably growing role in food supply and economic development for the foreseeable future. To fulfill this critical role, public policy towards these lands needs to be revised. A key policy focus should be to strengthen incentives for local land users to not only maintain, but to improve the natural resource base for food and fiber supply. Such land-improving investments" are needed to reduce production and subsistence risks and permit more intensive use without degradation. Under population and market pressure, one can expect an endogenous process of intensification, through land improvements, tenurial and institutional changes and "re-ordering" of the landscape. But this process is not automatic. Factors influencing the pace and scale of land transformation include: farmer knowledge of degradation of the degrading resource; incentives for long-term investment; capacity to mobilize resources for land investment; level of economic returns to such investment; and factors affecting the formation and function of local groups to help mobilize resources and coordinate landscape-level change. Current policies often work to constrain, rather than support, this process. New research is needed to support policy change for "marginal" lands. 1994 2024-10-24T12:45:52Z 2024-10-24T12:45:52Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156857 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Scherr, Sara J.; Hazell, Peter B. R. 1994. Sustainable agricultural development strategies in fragile lands. EPTD Discussion Paper 1. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156857
spellingShingle land use
economic aspects
investment
Scherr, Sara J.
Hazell, Peter B. R.
Sustainable agricultural development strategies in fragile lands
title Sustainable agricultural development strategies in fragile lands
title_full Sustainable agricultural development strategies in fragile lands
title_fullStr Sustainable agricultural development strategies in fragile lands
title_full_unstemmed Sustainable agricultural development strategies in fragile lands
title_short Sustainable agricultural development strategies in fragile lands
title_sort sustainable agricultural development strategies in fragile lands
topic land use
economic aspects
investment
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156857
work_keys_str_mv AT scherrsaraj sustainableagriculturaldevelopmentstrategiesinfragilelands
AT hazellpeterbr sustainableagriculturaldevelopmentstrategiesinfragilelands