2.1.2.1 Supply-side causes of land fragmentation
Proponents of these causes assume that land fragmentation is
an exogenous imposition on farmers. Farmers involuntarily accept to hold many
plots of land, which are often dispersed. It is also assumed that fragmentation
has adverse effects on agriculture, thus farmers cannot freely choose to
scatter their land holdings unless otherwise compelled by some other forces.
These forces are reviewed in the proceeding paragraphs.
Land inheritance leads to land fragmentation when farmers
desire to provide each of several heirs with land of similar quality.
Fragmentation goes on increasing through the activity of succession from one
generation to another as parents continue to bequeath land to their children.
Extreme land scarcity also leads to land fragmentation as farmers in quest of
additional land tend to accept any available plot of land within a reasonable
distance of their house. When population pressure on land is high and when
there are no other off-farm activities upon which the population can earn a
living, fragmentation results.
Nature itself may force farmers to own scattered land holdings
in a sense that geographical barriers such as waterways and wastelands limit
the possibilities for land consolidation. Expansion of the farm under such
circumstances requires acquisition of new separate pieces of land which when
done, implies land fragmentation. Lastly, egalitarian objectives and state laws
may limit possibilities for land consolidation. For example, in China during
the 1970s and 1980s, community leaders carried out land redistribution based on
equality. Arable land was divided into a number of plots with respect to
quality and each household was given a plot (Nguyen et al. 1996). In this case,
the land redistribution process led to land fragmentation especially at the
village level.
The supply-side causes of land fragmentation explain why a
young farmer might begin with a fragmented holding. However, they do not
explain the persistence of fragmentation in face of economic incentives for
land consolidation. Such persistence indicates that there are other causes of
land fragmentation. Supply-side causes of land fragmentation have been
criticised due to many reasons.
Firstly, even when land markets afford farmers opportunities
for consolidation, fragmentation persists. This persistence implies that the
choice to own many plots of land is not always an involuntary one as assumed by
proponents of the supply-side causes of land fragmentation.
Secondly, land fragmentation has developed in areas where
there is no serious land scarcity, such as in Kenya, Zambia and Gambia (Mc
Pherson 1982). Parents continue to bestow their heirs with scattered holdings,
a practice that would seemingly be halted if land fragmentation was largely
detrimental (Leach 1968).
The argument that land inheritance is designed for equity
reasons runs into difficulty when it is observed that sub-division and
fragmentation levels are eventually «checked» after reaching certain
levels since it becomes practically impossible to continue subdividing very
tiny plots, as noted in Mexico (Downing 1977) and in Sri Lanka (Leach 1968).
The criticisms raised above suggest that supply-side causes
are not sufficient to explain the existence and persistence of land
fragmentation. It is upon this that researchers have conceived demand-side
causes of land fragmentation.
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