Stepping-Up: Impacts of Armed Conflicts on Land Expansion

Land expansion by existing smallholder farmers (SHFs), aka stepping-up, is a major pathway to the rise of medium-scale farmers (MSFs) in Africa. In this paper, we investigate if and how armed conflicts constrain the ability of SHFs to transition to MSFs. We find that increased conflict intensity red...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of agricultural and applied economics 2023-11, Vol.55 (4), p.748-769
Main Authors: Adelaja, Adesoji, George, Justin, Jayne, Thomas, Muyanga, Milu, Awokuse, Titus, Aromolaran, Adebayo, Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural economics
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Capital losses
Climate change
Displaced persons
Farm income
Farmers
Farms
Insurgency
Rebellions
Rural areas
Small farms
Superhigh frequencies
Violence
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Land expansion by existing smallholder farmers (SHFs), aka stepping-up, is a major pathway to the rise of medium-scale farmers (MSFs) in Africa. In this paper, we investigate if and how armed conflicts constrain the ability of SHFs to transition to MSFs. We find that increased conflict intensity reduces the likelihood that a SHF will expand to a larger scale, especially for farmers who rely mostly on farm incomes, rather than off-farm incomes, for their livelihoods. These findings uphold other evidence that peace and stability influence private investment, including land-based investments, that are associated with economic transformation.
ISSN:1074-0708
2056-7405
DOI:10.1017/aae.2023.39