LAND TENURE AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

A typology of tenure systems, based on distribution of land ownership and average size of farming operation, identifies eight types of arrangements. Four criteria are discussed for evaluating land tenure systems: net value of production, marketed surplus, capital investment, and participation in the economy. While small family farms and group farms appear to best satisfy the criteria for evaluation, several contingent variables must be considered: land quality, minimum land size, and the conditions under which land is owned or rented. Specific measures of land reform and tenancy reform are presented. Also discussed are the importance of government commitment and the efficiency of administrative organization in implementing land redistribution. Progressive land taxation, land settlement, and rural development are considered as alternatives to land reform. The author concludes that neither land reform alone nor even agrarian reform (the creation of physical and institutional infrastructure to support small landholders) can be successful unless integrated into the larger goal of modernization of the entire economy.