Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/96348 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2014/051
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
Due to increasing population pressure on limited cultivable land in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), farm size has been shrinking, fallow periods have been shortened, and soil fertility has been declining. In accordance with the Boserupian evolutionary theory and the Hayami-Ruttan induced innovation theory, however, investments in land improvements have taken place, which leads to strengthened individual land rights and the intensification of farming systems in many other parts of SSA. Based on the literature review, this paper argues that such evolutionary and spontaneous changes should be supported by means of technology development and dissemination, formalization of land rights, and improvement of access to agricultural markets.
Subjects: 
population pressure
soil degradation
investments in land improvement
strengthened individual land rights
agricultural intensification
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9230-772-1
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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