8. Abstract
»Acess to land« was, a generation ago, the cry
of the rural poputation in Asia. But, since the end of the
60s, the »Green Revolution«, the experiencc of
millions of immigrant workers mainly in oil countries, general
cconomic development, and the influence of niass mcdia have
brought ahout a change.
»Access to income«, wherever it comes from,
is the dcsire of today's youth. Owners of very small pieces
of land try to increase their income by tak-ing up non-agricultura]
aclivities so thal agricullure provides pari on!y of thc livelihood
of many rural households. This multiemploymcnt ha s become
widesprcad in Asia.
Aboul 25 per cent of all land-culti-vating households in
Asia can be helped by agricultural policy because their farm
is of a sufficieni size to allow them to carn a living from
agriculture. But, for about 75 per cent of all Asian land-cullivating
households cultivating only a srnaU piece of land, agricultural
policy is hardly of intcrcst. They would be intercsted in
new employment op-portunities bcing created, training in non-agricultural
Jobs, and other meas-ures of regional development.
Al this slage of development, agrarian reforrn still has
its placc, but it should have different Contents from those
in formcr times. 1t should be incorporated into the gcncral
development policy. In addition to distribution of land, land
rnanagement, thc organ-ization of land- and tenancy markets
should also bc incorporatcd.
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