For better access to land in Belgium and in Europe

FIAN Belgium (FoodFirst Information and Action Network) recently published a study (in French) to describe and analyse the difficulties of access to land currently facing farmers in Belgium. To conduct this study, the Human Rights organisation devoted to the defense of the right to food was supported by Belgium peasant farmers’ organizations and access to land organisations: FUGEA, Mouvement d’Action paysanne and Terre-en-vue, as well as Terre de liens

This study (60p) is a rare in-depth analysis of access to land issues in a European country. It describes the current trends in land concentration of land and the obstacles faced by new entrants, particularly newcomers who do not have a family background in agriculture: market opacity, failures of the rental market, plot fragmentation, or illegal payments of key money.

The study also explores the levers available at the Belgian and European level to progress fair and equitable land governance. It examines in particular how to implement on a national level the Guidelines for the governance of land tenure, adopted in 2013 in the FAO framework. It also makes proposals for reform of the Belgian legal framework to enhance the protection of users’ rights and to better regulate markets. Finally, this study emphasises citizen experiments, such as those displayed on this website.

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  FIAN_For better access to land in Belgium and in Europe (PDF)