Slow agricultural development has restrained economic growth and poverty alleviation in Cambodia. The country’s volatile history has left a legacy of weak tenure security and large areas of underutilized land. This study estimates the impact of access to land on poverty in a logistic regression framework using household survey data. Increased access to land is shown to significantly lower the risk of household poverty. Tenure security, land improvements and irrigation strengthens this effect.

Although Cambodia has made significant progress in improving human well-being, poverty in rural areas persists. This Human Development Report for Cambodia assesses the state of rural livelihoods and their relationship with natural resources. It describes the status of human development at the regional and provincial levels, and distinguishes high performance areas from those which require more attention.

The purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to describe the legal and institutional framework governing land in Cambodia, as well as the current status of land ownership and use; (2) to estimate the impact of access to land on human development and the potential benefits from land reforms; and (3) to discuss implications for land polices and challenges for implementing land reforms.

ABSTRACTED FROM THE SUMMARY: The impact of land titles on social and economic development and poverty reduction in the rural sector can be optimized by targeting land-titling efforts in areas where government agencies, NGOs, and private investors are actively engaged. The benefits for disadvantaged households can also be increased by policies that specifically link land-titling efforts to pro-poor development objectives.

ABSTRACTED FROM THE OBJECTIVES: This paper aims to identify, scrutinise and comment upon the quality and adequacy of different existing large data sets (available from government ministries, international organisations, research institutions and so forth) that contain information on land use, tenure and related issues. It then analyses these data to establish linkages between standards of living/poverty and landholding.

A discussion paper by Robyn Johnston, Michael Roberts, Thuon Try and Sanjiv de Silva on groundwater for irrigation in Cambodia, published by International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka, iDE Cambodia in June 2013.

The research employs case studies to grasp the processes and forms of ongoing land consolidation, factors affecting land consolidation, viewpoints on land consolidation and impacts of land consolidation on stakeholders and the society. Nine models of land consolidation are selected in the research in various provinces.

Primer premio de la categoría Ensayos del Concurso 2015, el trabajo que ahora presentamos se basa en la investigación Construcción de ciudadanía a través de políticas contra la exclusión social: el caso de “Familias en acción” y “Familias por la inclusión social” en los Conurbanos de Bogotá y Buenos Aires, tesis de maestría de la authora.

 
Para continuar aportando al diálogo sobre el estado actual de la Agricultura familiar, difundimos en esta oportunidad el presente artículo, que mereció una mención entre los resultados del Concurso Alimentos y pensamientos, siempre en agenda, en la versión del año pasado. El autor nos propone una mirada actual al tema a partir de la construcción de su concepto, de algunos hechos de escala internacional y de experiencias de políticas públicas en Brasil que están contribuyendo a reinstalarlo, definitivamente, en las agendas del momento.  

* Ivo Lesbaupin

 COOPERACION INTERNACIONAL Y CRISIS FINANCIERA
 Vera Gianotten*
La actual crisis mundial, cuyas perspectivas día a día empeoran sin que nadie se atreva a vislumbrar su fin, está teniendo consecuencias sin precedentes en el mercado financiero global, pero sobre todo afectará de forma severa a los países empobrecidos del planeta.