Land management and food security: Land reforms in Kerala: An aid to ensure sustainable development

Abstract

Land governance is about policies, processes and institutions by which land, property and natural resources are managed. Land reform requires the redistribution of wealth and power. The role of government is very important in land management because it is the only actor with authority and power to command compliance. International agencies, such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFID) and the World Bank, explained that rural poverty cannot be eradicated without land reform and believed that poor rural people must have access to and control over land and other resources to overcome poverty. The central theme of this chapter is to revisit the concepts of land governance, land reform and the relationship between land governance and sustainable development. This chapter also investigates (i) land reform movement in Kerala, India, and (ii) challenges of land reform in this state. The findings suggest that there are huge gaps between the theories and practice. Thus, it is important to further examine the impact of land reform on various aspects since land reforms may accrue benefits for the landless and the poor and may also result in further alienation of the poor from the land.