Download or read book Land in African Agrarian Systems written by Thomas J. Bassett and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Land in African Agrarian Systems argues that proposals for sweeping changes in African agricultural land tenure are misconceived. Colonial administrators, African elites, and foreign aid donors have historically viewed the variety of indigenous landholding systems as obstacles to increased agricultural production and to economic progress in general, believing that only private land ownership will provide the investment security necessary for agricultural efficiency. This volume contends that privatisation is not the panacea for Africa's agrarian ills, and that any solutions must take into account critical social dynamics that influence how productive resources are acquired, used, contested and underutilised.