Linkages between rural population ageing, intergenerational transfers of land and agricultural production: are they important?

The paper considers: the question of whether the process of population ageing affects the ways in which land is passed on between members of different generationsthe likely implications of ageing-related changes in intergenerational transfers for food production in developing countriesThe paper concentrates primarily on rural population ageing in contexts where the individual ownership of land or natural resources is a predominant socio-economic phenomenon, although it also considers communal ownership situations.The authors conclude that: the need to conceptualize the elderly as a necessary element in exchange networks is commonly overlooked and omitted from policy considerations, yet this holds the most promise for developing creative new strategies to assure food security and social stabilitythe apparent intensity and durability of intergenerational exchange relationships suggest that national governments need to foster them, rather than ignore or erode them, and to support civil society institutions which do the sameinsights derived from the experience of population ageing in various rural settings can suggest the kind of policy interventions that will help to bring about a socially desired path of rural development in the future if the importance of population ageing for intergenerational transfers of land is confirmed, then establishing constructive, collaborative policies towards the elderly could be crucial for the outcomes of such transfers to be favourable to the agricultural sector.