Breakout Session 8: Improving access to land and water

Paper "Access to land and water for the rural poor in a context of growing resource scarcity" by Niasse Madiodio, IFAD, Presented by Michael Taylor

Chair’s remarks and key points:  Gary Howe, IFAD

• The land asset base is shrinking as demand is rising –  not only is land ownership a concern but also tenure rights to land, as these hold important implications for investments and production in small scale farming.

• Relative land holding is an important issue, representing land inequality which is on the rise. The potential for conflict is multiplied as there is greater socio-political marginalization and concentration of economic power.

• Water scarcity and fast increasing demand for water-use affects not only traditional crop agriculture but also mining, bio-fuels etc. The ability to control water depends on power and technical knowledge of infrastructure - smallholder farmers who lack both are disadvantaged in access to water.

• Competition for land, water and natural resources is becoming increasingly unequal. Defined as ‘increasing commercial pressure on land,’ land grabbing is viewed broadly as competition between large scale (foreign or national) and small scale agriculture.  National governments often exacerbate the vulnerability of people dependent on land and common property resources by supporting such transactions.

• The discourse over vacant/idle land or underutilized/less productive land (as in Africa) was held as problematic as it focuses on agricultural production while ignoring other uses of the land and common property resources on which farmers’ livelihoods are dependant, thus strengthening the agenda for corporate land grabbing.

• The issue of access to water cannot be separated from the issue of access to finance/credit since substantial investment in equipment and processes is necessary. The role of financial organizations is therefore crucial where access to water is concerned.

• Regarding large private investments in agriculture and land, the private sector is thought to be crucial as they owned most of capital, technology and market organizations, and small scale farming can benefit from engagement. However, this has to be on an equitable basis where smallholders have sufficient bargaining power. A necessary precondition is to ensure access to land and water for small farmers, whether through redistributive land reforms or attributing tenure security, coupled by efforts to enable small farmers to invest in their lands.

Synthesis of discussion

The land asset base is shrinking despite fast increasing demand for land and water. Complicating matters further, access to land and access to water are dynamically linked with each other. In this context, ownership of land and tenure rights to land are both cause for concern. Tenure insecurity for both land and water has negative implications for investments, and hence production, in small scale farming.

Apart from absolute size of land holdings, relative land holding is also an important issue. Relative land holdings represent land inequality which is increasing and not good for either economic development or society. It multiplies the potential for conflict as there is greater socio-political marginalization and concentration of economic power.

There is an emerging problem of water scarcity paralleled with fast increasing demand for water-use by traditional crop agriculture and by the mining industry, bio-fuels, etc. The ability to control water depends on power and technical knowledge of infrastructure – smallholder farmers often lack both and end up at the wrong side of access to water. Additionally, it was noted that water is not usually treated as a separate valuable resource and so control over water passes on at no additional cost to those who acquire a controlling share of land.

All of the these elements contribute to increasingly unequal competition for land, water and natural resources. Large-scale land investments by big private players, dubbed as land grabbing, create ‘increasing commercial pressure on land’. Land grabbing was perceived not in a narrow sense of foreign investors with capital occupying local lands, but, rather, as competition between large scale (often national) and small scale agricultural producers i.e. between different agricultural organizations. The new, large-scale mobilization of capital to rural areas in developing countries is often upheld by the national governments – this exacerbates the vulnerability of people dependent on land or common property resources. Without definitive evidence that large-scale agricultural operations are always efficient, private investors may be obtaining unjustified access to resources.

It was mentioned that land acquisitions are sometimes occurring not for immediate production but for speculative purposes, based on the expectation that land, water and natural resources will be scarce in the future. This is where the strategic value of land and water plays a crucial role behind investment decisions.

A critical observation was made regarding the discourse over vacant/idle land or underutilized/less productive land (as in Africa) which should be shifted to more efficient use. This was held as problematic by virtue of its focus on agricultural production - it ignores the livelihoods of people who are dependent on these lands for common property resources. There was a need for a rights-based people-centric approach to counter such a discourse, which essentially strengthened the agenda for corporate land grabbing. Recognizing individual or collective tenancy rights on land and water resources is important in this respect.

The issue of access to water cannot be separated from the issue of access to finance or credit. For example, installing water extracting equipment on farms requires substantially large investments and without access to credit, smallholders clearly remain at a disadvantage. The role of financial institutions is therefore crucial for ensuring access to water.

Finally, on the issue of securing large private investments, it was thought that the private sector is crucial as it owns most capital, technology and market organizations and thus small scale farmers can benefit from engaging with it. However, that engagement has to be on an equitable basis where smallholders can effectively negotiate with large private capital. A necessary precondition is to secure access to land and water for small farmers, whether through redistributive land reforms or by attributing tenure security, so that they have a basis for bargaining power. This must be paired with efforts to enable small farmers to invest in their lands, so that their access to land and water can be sustainable in the long run.