Agrarian Reform and Grassroots Development: Ten Case Studies

by Roy L. Prosterman

In the developing world, more than 100 million agricultural families make their living from land they do not own, working as tenant farmers or as agricultural labourers on large farms or plantations. This book examines issues related to land tenure and the prospects for land reform in a variety of settings, ranging from agriculture-based Third World economies to the centrally planned systems of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and China. The authors analyze both successes and failures in land reform and consider the economic, social and political effects of current ownership patterns. They also recommend new policies designed to enhance the prospects for development that can be sustained at the grassroots level. The resulting comparative study includes detailed analyses of land tenure patterns and problems in the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, China, Central America, Mexico, Brazil, the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Roy L. Prosterman was Professor Emeritus of Law at the University of Washington and the founder of the Rural Development Institute (RDI), which changed its name to Landesa in January 2011. He was also active in the fields of land reform, rural development, and foreign aid. He had provided advice and conducted research in more than 40 countries in Asia, the former Soviet Union, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. Prosterman had received many awards and distinctions, the 2003 Gleitsman International Activist Award, a Schwab Foundation Outstanding Global Social Entrepreneur and more recently, the inaugural 2006 Henry R. Kravis Prize in Nonprofit Leadership where he was lauded as "Champion for the World's Poor". He had also been nominated for The World Food Prize, Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, and Alcan Prize for Sustainability. Prosterman was a frequent guest speaker and presenter at world forums on poverty alleviation and was a frequent published author in nonfiction and fiction.
Prosterman received his law degree from Harvard Law School.