illustration for the drivers of inequality

Driver Category 4.5

Unequal access to productive resources and markets

This driver covers aspects related to agriculture and other forms of self-employment and whether people are able to pursue their own entrepreneurial activities in a productive way with the resources they need and access to markets.

This includes issues such as access to land, agricultural extension services, appropriate technologies and other key inputs such as seeds, water and agricultural finance, all of which determine the productivity of agricultural activities, as well as access to market knowledge, physical access to market aspects and competitiveness.

It also includes access to finance for other forms of self-employment as well as the accessibility of support services for small business start-ups.

Guiding Questions

Access to land

  • What is the scale of land concentration and pattern of land ownership?
  • Does the government undertake an agricultural census and is adequate and transparent information available on land ownership?
  • Is land concentration increasing as a result of large land deals?
  • How is the government negotiating with investors in relation to agricultural or extractives investments that have significant implications for land use and land expropriations?
  • Are investors meeting standards regarding free, prior and informed consent and providing adequate compensation deals?
  • What are the costs (including of any tax exemptions offered), benefits and impacts of such agreements for smallholder farmers?
  • What is the status of the taxation of agricultural land?
  • Does a land value tax exist and is the tax set at an appropriate level?
  • Are there any regulations related to large land holdings and unused land?
  • Is tax structured to take into account aspects such as location, land quality and fertility, as well as to act as a disincentive to land concentration and to incentivise efficient, sustainable land use?
  • What is the status of any land regularisation programmes?
  • Does a programme exist aimed at protecting the land rights of smallholder farmers and improving their tenure security?
  • What is the situation with regard to women’s land ownership, their rights to inherit land and property, and their control over the income from crops produced on the land?

Agriculture policy and budget

  • What is the status of agriculture programmes to support smallholder farmers access the necessary inputs (seeds, fertilizer, water, credit) and improve their knowledge, productivity and access to markets?
  • What programmes exist (such as programmes to provide market information, education and training, quality and affordable seed, fertilizer and water, access to finance and support for adding value through processing and marketing)?
  • Are programmes properly targeted - to support the poorest, in marginal agricultural zones and to ensure participation by women farmers?
  • What is level of public expenditure on agriculture - in absolute terms, as a share of GDP and as a share of total spending?
  • Is agriculture spending increasing or is it under pressure?
  • Is the agriculture budget presented transparently to show clearly the support that is given to large agribusinesses compared to small farmers and to show investments in different regions?
  • How does spending compare between regions and between smallholders and large firms?
  • Is there any evidence that large landowners and agribusinesses are lobbying to direct infrastructure investment to benefit their operations?
  • Is there evidence that large landowners and agribusinesses exert influence generally on agriculture policies, regulations and investments?
  • What agricultural finance products are available to small businesses compared to large agribusinesses?
  • What types of loans, interest rates and repayment periods are being offered by large commercial banks, compared to microfinance institutions and savings and credit cooperatives?
  • What is the government doing to provide smallholders with subsidised credit and insurance products?

Fisheries

  • What is the status of government programmes to support small-scale fisheries?
  • What controls are in place to prevent overfishing and ensure sustainable fisheries management by small and large actors?
  • Are there efforts to support small-scale fisheries in areas such as modernisation (use of improved technologies such as motor engines, modern navigation and communication equipment, and processing and cold storage facilities) and to meet international food safety standards and access export markets?
  • What is the status of the fisheries tenure rights of small-scale fishing communities?
  • Do communities have secure use rights to access fishery resources and to land in the coastal, lakeshore or waterfront area?
  • What is the government doing to recognise and protect the legitimate tenure rights of indigenous peoples and other communities with customary tenure systems?

Forestry

  • What policies, laws and regulations govern forest use and management?
  • Does the legal framework recognise and protect forest-related property rights?
  • To what extent does it recognise customary and traditional rights of indigenous peoples, local communities and traditional forest users?
  • Is there an effective means of resolving disputes in relation to forest tenure and resource use?
  • Are there government programmes to support sustainable management of forests and the livelihoods of forest communities?
  • Are there government programmes that support increased value-addition and sustainable utilisation of timber and non-timber forest products?
  • What incentives exist to promote sustainable management of forests?

Small and medium sized enterprises

  • How many people (and what proportion of the workforce) are employed by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country?
  • What direct support programmes exist for SMEs (eg. training in areas such as business start ups, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and business finance, support to attend trade fairs, access suitable premises and to access match funding or subsidised credit through SME financing programmes)?
  • What is the government doing to promote social enterprises?
  • Is there any special support provided, including subsidized access to credit or preferential access to SME support programmes?
  • Is there any evidence of the impact of SME support programmes in terms of business growth and productivity and employment generation?

Indicators

Potential indicators to monitor the drivers of inequalities in this main driver category

  • Average land sizes owned per household income level (nationally and per region)
  • % of national budget spent on agriculture / % of GDP spent on agriculture
  • Amount of budget allocated to smallholder agriculture programmes (disaggregated by programme and per region)
  • % of rural households with access to electricity
  • Budget invested in rural roads as % of road infrastructure budgets
  • Number of farmers covered by minimum pricing agreements as % of all farmers
  • Volume of production and productivity levels of key smallholder crops
  • % of smallholders involved in processing own crops (by crop, gender, income level and region)
  • % of farmers reporting access to improved seeds, use of fertilizer, access to irrigation and credit (by gender, farm size or income level and region)
  • Amount of budget allocated to fisheries and forestry programmes (disaggregated by programme)
  • Number of staff and annual budget of forest management agency

Candidate Policies

To see related Candidate Policies in this main driver category please click here.