The Land, Issue 1 now available online
The Land, a magazine out of the UK based group The Land is Ours. TLIO campaigns for access to land, its resources and the decision making processes affecting them. In The Land, topics relating to land use policy, problems, and possible models for solutions are discussed in long form articles. Issue 1 looks at questions […]
An Interview with Wes Jackson: Solving the 10,000-Year-Old Problem of Agriculture
Our dear friend and colleague, Wes Jackson, was interviewed by In These Times in 2016. His words continue to echo the truth:”In 1978, I wrote an essay for the Friends of the Earth publication Not Man Apart on the history of Earth abuse due to agriculture. I suggested building an agricultural system based on the way […]
Most Exiting Farmers in New England May Have No Successor
A new study by American Farmland Trust and Land For Good underscores the challenge New England faces in the next two decades around farmland transition. Nearly one-thrid of New England’s farmers are age 65+ and 9 out of 10 do not have a young farmer to work alongside of them. The 1.4 million acres they […]
Access to Land Animated Short
The video Access to Land is a short animated exploration of the question, “Why should we privilege access to land and natural resources for small agricultural operation?” Access to Land looks at the value of small farms in comparison to larger farm operations. Fewer pesticides and a higher net efficiency per acre are typical of small […]
Economy of the Commons
Ten years of research by the P2P Foundation has been distilled into Ten Commandments of Commons Economics
Community Land Trust History: Interview with Bob Swann
An Interview with Bob Swann Conducted by Kirby White (1992) Originally published in Community Economics (Summer 1992): 3– 5. COMMUNITY ECONOMICS: Would you talk about how the community land trust model was developed, and how your own experience led to the development of the model. BOB SWANN: As a conscientious objector during world War II, I spent two years […]
Shifting African policy towards women and agroecology
The role of rural women and smallholder farmers in African society has been highly undervalued. This is so despite the fact that around 80% of Africa’s population is dependent on smallholder agriculture, it is the backbone of the rural economy, and women provide over two-thirds of the farm labour. There is clear evidence that agroecology […]
The Gates Foundation and the Plunder of African Agriculture
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is dangerously and unaccountably distorting the direction of international development, according to a new report by the campaign group Global Justice Now. With assets of $43.5 billion, the BMGF is the largest charitable foundation in the world. It actually distributes more aid for global health than any government. […]
Land rights and acequia culture in Milagro Bean Field War (1988)
As directed by Robert Redford, The Milagro Beanfield War is a diverting account of how little guys join forces to fight big-bucks interests. Though this is a life-and-death issue for land conservationists, Redford handles it with a light touch. In his Milagro, land rights are not a matter for the social agenda but an occasion […]
USDA Expands Microloans to Help Farmers Purchase Farmland and Improve Property
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2016 — Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin offering farm ownership microloans, creating a new financing avenue for farmers to buy and improve property. These microloans will be especially helpful to beginning or underserved farmers, U.S. veterans looking for a career in […]