Land - banner

Land

Ensuring access to food, shelter and income

Competition for land has never been greater. The world faces rising population numbers, rapid urbanization, climate change, declining soil fertility and an increasing demand for food and fuel security. All of this puts pressure on land.

In many developing countries, competing land uses and increasing demand are sources of conflict and debate. Weak land governance and inefficient management of natural resources compound these issues.

Poor rural people – especially women, youth, indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups – typically have weak or unprotected tenure rights. 

This means that they risk losing access and control over land, often the only asset they have to secure their livelihoods.  

Land tenure security for broader stability

Access to land is key to eradicating poverty – and not only because it allows farmers to feed their families. 

When smallholder farmers have secure land rights, they are more willing to invest in the land and can use it to access credit. Land ownership also gives them more incentives to improve farming techniques and manage their land sustainably. They are able to diversify their incomes and protect their family’s well-being against the threat of more powerful neighbours or private companies claiming stake to their land. 

With secure land rights, rural women usually have a greater say in household investments and in community matters.

Land tenure security makes societies more stable, with less conflict and more opportunity. 

Inclusive decision-making and a more secure future 

IFAD-supported projects help people in rural areas gain legal rights to their land — a key factor in the fight against poverty. We promote the recording and registering of land rights, decentralized land administration and more secure rangeland rights. 
We also encourage good land governance through participatory land-use planning and conflict resolution, as well as inclusive and responsible investment and multi-stakeholder dialogue. 

Securing land rights can be complex, and is an issue that requires sustained international support. IFAD is therefore engaged in the global policy dialogue on land as part of the Global Donor Working Group and is a founding member of the International Land Coalition, which identifies access to both land and natural resources as a fundamental factor in IFAD’s efforts to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience in rural areas.

Collaborating with FAO, the Committee on World Food Security and others, IFAD contributed to the formulation and implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGTs). 

We also worked together with the African Union Commission and its partners to develop the pan-African land policy guidelines. More recently, IFAD has collaborated with a range of partners on the inclusion of a land tenure security indicator within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework.  

IFAD also leads the Global Environmental Fund (GEF) Integrated Approach for Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa, which focuses on the natural resources that underpin food and nutrition security — land, water, soils, trees and genetic resources.

Spotlight

Spotlight

Rural people in Sudan call time on water wars

As the climate crisis takes hold and water scarcity sparks conflict, rural people in Sudan are finding ways toward peace and equitable resource management.

Projects

Projects

Bangladesh

Haor Infrastructure and Livelihood Improvement Project

Uganda

Agricultural Technology and Agribusiness Advisory Services Project (ATAAS)

Peru

Strengthening Local Development in the Highlands and High Rainforest Areas Project

Experts

Asset Publisher

Rikke Grand Olivera

Lead Global Technical Specialist, Land Tenure & Natural Resources Management

r.olivera@ifad.org

Stories and news

Stories and news

Rural people in Sudan call time on water wars

February 2023 - STORY
As the climate crisis takes hold and water scarcity sparks conflict, rural people in Sudan are finding ways toward peace and equitable resource management.

Georgia and Kyrgyzstan: sustained efforts toward collective community pasture management

February 2023 - STORY
Pastoral communities in Georgia and Kyrgyzstan work hand in hand with IFAD to make land use more equitable, productive and sustainable.

A tale of two towns in Tajikistan

October 2022 - STORY
In Tajikistan two neighbouring towns face different fates as one suffers the aftermath of drought and displacement and the other is saved by irrigation.

You are what you eat: Indigenous youths breathe new life into ancient traditions

October 2022 - STORY
Young members of indigenous communities are working to reverse centuries of dispossession and preserve their way of life, including their food heritage.

Land View more link

Related publications

Related publications

Sustainable Agricultural Intensification Practices - East and Southern Africa

May 2023
This note identifies SAI practices implemented in 17 East and Southern Africa countries and recommends best approaches to promoting SAI in ESA and beyond.

Supporting Extension Services to Scale Up Sustainable Land Management: The potential of WOCAT’s tools and methods

March 2023
This publication reviews lessons from applying the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Uganda.

Enhancing Engagement of Private Sector and Local Communities on Peatland Management: Innovative Policies and Monitoring System in Indonesia

March 2022
This brief describes how an IFAD-GEF project promotes sustainable peatland management, secure carbon stocks, and conservation of biodiversity, while improving the living standards of local communities.

Related documents

Related documents