Byerlee, DerekDeininger, KlausLindsay, JonathanNorton, AndrewStickler, MercedesSelod, Harris2012-03-192012-03-192011978-0-8213-8591-3https://hdl.handle.net/10986/2263Interest in farmland is rising. And, given commodity price volatility, growing human and environmental pressures, and worries about food security, this interest will increase, especially in the developing world. One of the highest development priorities in the world must be to improve smallholder agricultural productivity, especially in Africa. Smallholder productivity is essential for reducing poverty and hunger, and more and better investment in agricultural technology, infrastructure, and market access for poor farmers is urgently needed. When done right, larger-scale farming systems can also have a place as one of many tools to promote sustainable agricultural and rural development, and can directly support smallholder productivity, for example, throughout grower programs. However, recent press and other reports about actual or proposed large farmland acquisition by big investors have raised serious concerns about the danger of neglecting local rights and other problems. They have also raised questions about the extent to which such transactions can provide long-term benefits to local populations and contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development. Although these reports are worrying, the lack of reliable information has made it difficult to understand what has been actually happening. Against this backdrop, the World Bank, under the leadership of Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, along with other development partners, has highlighted the need for good empirical evidence to inform decision makers, especially in developing countries.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO INFORMATIONACCOUNTABILITYACID SOILSACTUAL YIELDSAGRIBUSINESSAGRICULTURAL AREAAGRICULTURAL COMMODITIESAGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTAGRICULTURAL GROWTHAGRICULTURAL INNOVATIONAGRICULTURAL INVESTMENTAGRICULTURAL LANDAGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITYAGRICULTURAL RESEARCHAGRICULTURAL SECTORSAGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGYAGRICULTURAL TRADEAGRICULTURAL USEAGRICULTUREAGRICULTURE ORGANIZATIONALLOCATION OF LANDAQUACULTUREARID LANDSBIODIVERSITYBULK COMMODITIESCAPACITY BUILDINGCAPITAL MARKETSCENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL FORESTRY RESEARCHCGIARCIFORCLIENT COUNTRIESCLIMATE CHANGECOFFEECOMMODITY PRICECOMMODITY PRICESCOMMON PROPERTYCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGECONSERVATION TILLAGECONSOLIDATIONCONSULTATIVE GROUP ON INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCHCOTTONCROPCROP LANDCROP PRODUCTIONCROP YIELDSCROPPINGCROPSCULTIVATED AREASCULTIVATED LANDCULTIVATIONDEFORESTATIONDEGRADED LANDSDEVELOPMENT RESEARCHECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC IMPACTECONOMICSEFFECTIVE USEEMISSIONSEMPIRICAL BASISEMPIRICAL EVIDENCEEMPIRICAL RESEARCHENVIRONMENTALENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTSENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCESENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITYEQUILIBRIUMEXPLOITATIONEXTERNALITIESFAOFARM SIZEFARMERSFARMINGFARMING SYSTEMSFARMLANDFARMSFEEDFISHERIESFOOD INSECURITYFOOD PRICESFOOD PRODUCTSFOOD SECURITYFOOD SUPPLIESFOREST LANDFORESTRYFORESTSGENDERGLOBAL INTERESTGRAINGREENHOUSE GASGREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONSHUNGERIFADIMPACT ASSESSMENTINCOMESINFLATIONINTEGRATIONINTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTINVENTORYLABOR COSTSLAND ACQUISITIONLAND CONSOLIDATIONLAND MARKETSLAND REDISTRIBUTIONLAND REFORMLAND REFORMSLAND RENTLAND RESOURCESLAND RIGHTSLAND SUPPLYLAND TAXESLAND TENURELAND TRANSFERSLAND USELAND USE CHANGELAND USE PLANNINGLAND USE RESTRICTIONSLAND VALUESLARGE FARMSLEGISLATIONLEVEL PLAYING FIELDLIVELIHOODSLIVESTOCKLIVESTOCK RANCHINGLOCAL GOVERNMENTLOSS OF BIODIVERSITYLUXEMBOURGMAIZEMANDATESMARKETINGMIGRATIONMULTIPLIERSMUSANATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICSNATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENTNATURAL RESOURCESNEW TECHNOLOGIESNONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONSOILOILSEEDPALM OILPASTORALISTSPASTURESPATENTSPOLICY MAKERSPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOPULATION GROWTHPOTENTIAL INVESTORSPOTENTIAL YIELDSPOVERTY ALLEVIATIONPOVERTY REDUCTIONPRESENT VALUEPRICE CHANGESPRIVATE SECTORPRODUCERSPRODUCTION COSTSPRODUCTIVITYPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC GOODSPUBLIC LANDPUBLIC LANDSPUBLIC SERVICESR&DREDUCING EMISSIONSREGULATORY FRAMEWORKRESEARCH SYSTEMSRESISTANT VARIETIESRESOURCE MANAGEMENTRICERICE CULTIVATIONRURAL DEVELOPMENTRURAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIESRURAL POPULATIONRURAL POVERTYSOILSSORGHUMSOYBEAN YIELDSSOYBEANSSUBSIDIARYSUGARCANESUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTSUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENTSUSTAINABLE RESOURCE USETAX REVENUETAXATIONTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETECHNOLOGICAL CHANGETECHNOLOGY TRANSFERTHE CONSULTATIVE GROUPTRANSFERS OF ASSETSTRANSPORTTREESUNCTADUNEMPLOYMENTUNEPUNITED NATIONSUNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMMEUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTAURBANIZATIONVEGETABLE OILSWAGESWHEATWOODZONINGWorld Bank10.1596/978-0-8213-8591-3