Only 4% of landowners, mostly multinational companies and great land owners, hold more than half of the farmland worldwide. In contrast to that 58% of all landholders own only 8% of arable land. Those are mostly small scale farmers. In many countries 30-50% of the rural population, don’t own any land at all. The access to land, which is the basic requirement for food security, is a key factor in order to alleviate poverty.

Access to land as a food security and human rights issue
Misereor has drafted a policy paper (Access to land 231Kb), which identifies several problems involved, such as the lack of access to productive resources, including land, water, forests, biological diversity etc. and the diverse problems concerning ownership which may even evolve in violent conflicts. Not only the growing concentration of land and the failure of land reform processes, but also the fragmentation of land and the over use of existing natural resources have a tremendous impact on the scarcity of land.

Partner dialogue
A partner dialogue (A dialogue process with Misereor partners 51,5 Kb) involving quite a number of Misereor partner organisations in different countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America has resulted in the conclusion that despite regional differences the cause for limited access to land for the poor are generally the same. One of the major thematic fields that have been identified considers the general economic and political framework and the current economic trends which are not beneficial for land ownership of small scale farmers and indigenous groups. Furthermore land legislation and secured right of land use have been identified as well as the gender perspective and the need for securing women’s rights to hold land. Not only the access to natural resources but also their sustainable management are strongly linked as prerequisites of sustainable development and poverty alleviation. These challenges call for a further and strong commitment of Misereor and their partners.