Press release Land-use Options for Rural Development Krishna B. Ghimire from Development in Practice , Volume 7, Number 4, November 1997. Since the majority of people in developing countries still live off the land and most of them are poor, it is logical to ask how land is being or could be used to the specific advantage of the marginalised rural populations.
Land is the major source of food, employment, and income in rural areas.
Any major savings, investments in land and productivity, family welfare, children's education, and improved living conditions must also come from the sustainable use of land, involving crop production, livestock raising and other forms of natural-resources extraction. Continued access to land is therefore of paramount importance for small farmers and poorer rural inhabitants. The importance of peasants' access to ' cultivated' land is irrefutable. Peasant farming tends to be more productive and to maintain the quality of the soil with lower labour costs and fewer inputs than mechanised farming. Moreover, cultivated land is increasingly used for urbanisation, infrastructure development, and other non-agricultural activities.