The Rise of Large Farms in Land Abundant Countries : Do They Have A Future?

Deininger, Klaus ; Byerlee, Derek

关键词: ACCESS TO INFORMATION;    ADVERSE SELECTION;    AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT;    AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS;    AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5588
RP-ID  :  WPS5588

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Increased levels and volatility of foodprices has led to a surge of interest in large-scaleagriculture and land acquisition. This creates challengesfor policy makers aiming to establish a policy environmentconducive to an agrarian structure to contribute tobroad-based development in the long term. Based on ahistorical review of episodes of growth of large farms andtheir impact, this paper identifies factors underlying thedominance of owner-operated farm structures and ways inwhich these may change with development. The amount of landthat could potentially be available for expansion and thelevel of productivity in exploiting available land resourcesare used to establish a country-level typology. The authorshighlight that an assessment of the advantages of largeoperations, together with information on endowments, canprovide input into strategy formulation at the countrylevel. A review of recent cases of land acquisitionreinforces the importance of the policy framework indetermining outcomes. It suggests that transparency andcontract enforcement, recognition of local land rights andways in which they can be exercised, attention to employmenteffects and technical viability, and mechanisms tore-allocate land from unsuccessful ventures to moreproductive entrepreneurs are key areas warranting theattention of policy makers.