Farmland transfers and the role of land banks in Latin America

This paper examines the effects of land policies, institutions, and ownership patterns on farmland transfers in the region. Attention is focused on farmland financing programs, which have often been used in industrialized countries (the U.S. program is detailed) to provide access to land for the landless and overcome land-market inefficiencies. The report describes four such programs in the Latin America/Caribbean region - two successful examples of private development foundations providing funds for land purchases by groups of campesinos (in Guatemala and Ecuador), and two proposed but unimplemented programs (Brazil and St. Lucia). A final section of the paper examines the potential for land financing programs in the region and addresses three concerns related to their design and implementation: the availability of funds, land appraisals, and the effects of land policies.