The overall aim of the National Land Policy is to promote and ensure a secure land tenure system, to encourage the optimal use of land resources, and to facilitate broad-based social and economic development without upsetting or endangering the ecological balance of the environment. The specific objectives of this National Land Policy are to: promote an equitable distribution of and access to land by all citizens; ensure that existing rights in land especially customary rights of smallholders (i.e.

Agricultural and Livestock Policy nine general objectives are: Assure basic food security for the nation, and to improve national standards of nutrition by increasing output, quality and availability of food commodities. Increase food crops production through productivity and livestock growth will be encouraged to private sector. Improve standards in the rural areas through increased income generation from agricultural and livestock production, processing and marketing: encouraging exports of cash crops, livestock products and agricultural surpluses.

The National Agricultural Policy of Namibia is a multi-sectoral policy with the following objectives: achieve growth rates and stability in farm income, agricultural productivity and production levels that are higher than the population growth rate; ensure food security and improve nutritional status; create and sustain viable livelihood and employment opportunities in rural areas; improve the profitability of agriculture and increase investment in agriculture; contribute towards the improvement of the balance of payments; expand vertical integration and domestic value-added for agricultura

This paper examines the role of the extended family on investments in children, using data from a retrospective survey of three generations in the rural Philippines. Econometric results show that interactions between grandparent characteristics and child gender significantly affect the distribution of proposed land bequests between sons and daughters. However, grandparents significantly affect gender-specific investments in children's education only in resource-constrained families.

This paper reviews the econometric evidence on gender differences in agricultural productivity. It provides a methodological overview and a critique of (1) production function-based estimates of technical and labor productivity differences by gender, (2) individual (gender-disaggregated) labor supply and earnings functions and (3) studies of the determinants of technological adoption. The review finds that (1) in general, male and female farmers are equally efficient as farm managers. Women farmers' lower yields are attributable to lower levels of inputs and human capital than men.

The Agricultural Perspective Plan (APP) is a national strategy with a cross-sectoral approach with a duration of twenty years (1995-2015). Its goal is to add two percentage points to the country’s agricultural growth which would expand per capita agricultural growth sixfold, from its current 0.5% to 3% per year. The APP strategy is based on the acceleration of the agricultural growth rate sufficiently to obtrain strong multiplier effect on growth in employment, both in agriculture itself and in nonagricultural sectors.

In the developed countries less than 20 per cent of the population is engaged in agriculture. The rest is employed in the industrial sector. In the underdeveloped countries less than 10 per cent of the population is employed in the industrial sector and the rest is engaged in agriculture. At once this dictates that, for some time to come, the route to development in the latter countries will depend on agriculture, which also mainly depends on land policy and tenure. The land question is a contradiction in land rights and consequential social, economic and political abuses replicated on it.

Research report

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) - currently ratified by 187 countries - is the only human rights treaty that deals specifically with rural women (Art. 14). Adopted in 1979 by the United Nations Generally Assembly, entered into force in 1981. The Convention defines discrimination against women as follows:

The Constitution of the Republic of Tanzania was ratified in 1977. Since 1977, several amendments have been applied to the original Constitution. Many of these are related to the relationship between the united government and the Zanzibar government. This Constitution shall apply to Mainland Tanzania as well as Tanzania Zanzibar.

FAO’s Land Tenure Notes provide information on

land tenure in a format that can be used by grassroots

organizations which work with small farmers

and others in rural communities. Improving secure

access to land by the rural poor is essential in order

to reduce poverty and hunger and to promote sustainable

rural development. Improving people’s

knowledge of their rights to land is an important

part of making rights real, thereby allowing people

to improve their livelihoods.