Land consolidation is being considered as an important approach to address the problem of land fragmentation in the densely populated areas of Eastern Africa.
Smallholders do not necessarily benefit from land consolidation. Initiatives that consolidate input purchasing and produce marketing through collectives, such as farmers' cooperatives, can offset some of the challenges of land fragmentation.
I am not sure how practical land consolidation is especially in countries where land is privately owned. If there was a practical way of doing this, certainly it would be very helpful to smallholders- especially with the emerging evidence showing that 'small may not be beautiful' after all. May be approaching like block farming may be more helpful to smallholders. Conventionally, land subdivisions often happen through inheritance from fathers to their sons once they form households. However, farmers have started identifying the danger of infinite land subdivisions and they are individually advocating against land fragmentation. In my recent fieldwork in Kenya, i came across some elderly farmers who have started pronouncing injunctions against subdivision of their farms by their heirs once they pass on. Instead, these farmers are advising their heirs to continue carrying out farming without subdividing the farms to enjoy economies of scale of farming larger farms.
Thanks both for sharing your experiences. Yes, I agree with the points that the emerging issues and the possible benefits/flaws are different at production and marketing levels; and also depending on the land tenure system. It is interesting to learn that 'prevention' of further subdivision of land is getting attention in the customary land tenure.
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