Details

Related name

• Deininger, Klaus [Browse]

Series

• Policy research working papers. [More in this series]
• World Bank e-Library. [More in this series]

Summary note

Despite accounts of increasing large farm penetration in Africa and an active debate on the differential potential of smallholder versus large farms to satisfy Africa's food requirements, evidence on the extent and performance of different farm types remains limited. A census and subsequent representative survey of 3,000 large farms in Zambia, one of the African countries with the highest share of large farms, allows characterizing the impact of institutional arrangements on large farms' establishment and productive performance. While policies rather than exogenous price shocks seem to have driven large farm expansion, average productivity is not different from small farms and title has no impact on productivity, investment, or credit access, most likely because the transferability of titles remains limited, undermining the suitability of such land as collateral. Significant effects of title on self-reported land prices point toward land being acquired for speculative purposes, suggesting that a tax on titled land, together with improved land service delivery might be a desirable policy option.

Other title(s)

Does Title Increase Large Farm Productivity?

Other standard number

• 10.1596/1813-9450-9702

Statement on responsible collection description

Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage. Read more...