Science for Action: SUPPORTING SMALL-SCALE FARMING SYSTEMS

The Science for Action Series is jointly coordinated by the International Land Coalition (ILC) and the Global Land Programme (GLP). It brings together key findings from research networks relevant to ILC ten commitments to People-Centred Land Governance. The Series facilitates an exchange of knowledge between scientists, civil society, and grassroots organisations to strengthen efforts of land users, practitioners and policy-makers to bring about positive change in land governance.

This brief refers to Commitment Two: ‘Ensure equitable land distribution and public investment that supports small-scale farming systems, including through redistributive agrarian reforms that counter land concentration, provide for secure and equitable use and control of land, and allocate appropriate land to landless rural producers and urban residents, whilst supporting smallholders as investors and producers, such as through cooperative and partnership business models’.

It is based on the research at the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University Observatory of Territorial Planning (OUOT) of the National Autonomous University of Honduras.

In many contexts, small-scale farming systems demonstrate higher yields and harbour greater biodiversity on their lands than larger-scale farming systems, making them highly relevant for mediating environmental and social outcomes related to sustainable development.