Ländliche Gebiete in Brasilien sind mit vielfältigen Problemen konfrontiert. Um gleichzeitig eine nachhaltige, bezahlbare Biodieselproduktion zu fördern und die sozialen Probleme auf dem Land anzugehen, wurde 2004 das brasilianische Biodieselprogramm PNPB beschlossen. Diese Arbeit untersucht, welche Veränderungen die Produktion von Ölpflanzen im Rahmen des PNPB für Kleinbauern mit sich bringt und ob dies zu mehr Resilienz der kleinbäuerlichen Landwirtschaft im Norden von Minas Gerais beiträgt. Untersucht wurden landwirtschaftliche Systeme in zwei Regionen. In der bereits marktwirtschaftlich orientierten Region mit einer gut funktionierenden Kooperative bringt der Anbau von Soja für Biodiesel einen geringen Mehrverdienst und wenig Umsetzungsprobleme. Das Agrarsystem selbst wird jedoch weder resilienter noch werden die Bauern abhängig vom PNPB. Anders stellt sich die Situation in der strukturschwachen Region dar, wo Kleinbauern Rizinus als neue Fruchtart in ihre Produktion aufgenommen haben. Diese Bauern waren die eigentliche Zielgruppe des PNPB. Tatsächlich profitieren sie aber weit weniger davon. Zwar konnten die Rizinusbauern durch das PNPB kurzfristig einen Einkommenszuwachs erzielen, aufgrund verschiedener Widrigkeiten war dieser jedoch nicht von Dauer. Insgesamt ist die Struktur des Agrarsystems der Rizinusbauern sehr fragil. Das bedeutet, dass sich externe Störungen selbst verstärken und das System aus dem Gleichgewicht bringen können. Dies und die genannten Schwierigkeiten führen zu einer Schwächung der Resilienz des Gesamtsystems durch das PNPB. Der Kern des Agrarsystems mit seiner ursprünglichen Produktion von Rindfleisch und Produkten zur Selbstversorgung, deren Überschüsse verkauft werden, kann jedoch als resilient eingestuft werden. Alternativ zur Teilnahme am PNPB könnte eine auf Diversität, Agrarökologie, traditionelles Wissen, regionale Vernetzung und Autonomie der Kleinbauern gegenüber Abnehmern ausgelegte Produktionsweise zu mehr Resilienz führen. / Rural areas in Brazil face various problems. In order to simultaneously promote sustainable, affordable biodiesel production and to address the social problems in the countryside, the Brazilian biodiesel program PNPB was approved in 2004. This thesis examines the changes induced by the production of oil crops under the PNPB for family farmers, and whether this contributes to the resilience of family farming in the north of Minas Gerais. Agricultural systems were studied in two regions. In the already market-oriented region with a well-functioning cooperative the cultivation of soybeans for biodiesel provides a small additional income and little implementation problems. However, neither the agricultural system itself becomes more resilient nor do the farmers depend on the PNPB. The situation is different in the structurally weak region where small farmers have included castor as a new crop in their production. These farmers were the actual target group of the PNPB. In fact, they benefit far less. Although the castor bean farmers were able to increase their income in the short term by the PNPB, this was not permanent due to various adversities. Overall, the structure of the agricultural system is very fragile. This means that external disturbances can intensify themselves and can bring the system out of balance. This and the difficulties mentioned led to a weakening of the resilience of the overall system by the PNPB. However, the core agricultural system, with its production of beef and products for self-sufficiency and the surplus being sold to the market can be classified as resilient. As an alternative to the participation in the PNPB, a more diversified farming approach, such as using methods of agricultural ecology and traditional knowledge and the establishment of cooperatives to strengthen the autonomy of small-scale farmers and their power towards contract partners, could lead to more resilience.

No description available.

The overall objective of the study was to analyse the Forest Dwelling Systems in the Terra Firme and Várzea communities and to investigate the conditions under which the different activities are allocated across households. In this study, the Farming System Approach facilitates a holistic examination of the Forest Dwelling Household System. This study broadly analyses the importance of natural products and their role as consumption and as goods for cash income for forest dwellers. By focusing on the functions of those products, their role within the Forest Dweller System must be examined. There have been identified differences between the Terra Firme (upland) and Várzea (floodplain) ecosystems management and production systems that are still ignored by decision makers. The study area was identified based on certain criteria: a) accessibility to the area (field support), b) availability of the forest production and, c) ecosystem (Terra Firme and Várzea communities). The survey was conducted in one community at the Terra Firme region (Itacoã) and in three communities at the Várzea region (Monte Tabor, Nova Santa Cruz, Manoel Carneiro). In selecting the households, the dependence on extraction of forest resources as the principal source of income was used as the major criteria, and part-time households were excluded from the studies. In order to obtain data on the structure of the entire Forest Dwelling Household System, productive activities within the house garden, cropping and forest extraction, financial and marketing aspects, were analyzed in 60 households (48 in Terra Firme and 12 in Várzea communities). Data concerning demography, socio-cultural aspects, labour force, land tenure were also gathered and analyzed. For this purpose households and key informants were interviewed with the use of a semi-structured questionnaire; participative observation was carried out and market research was executed. The households live basically to sustenance. A purely subsistence oriented family can only be identified as such if its production objectives are merely meant to fulfil subsistence needs. The type of forest dwelling household system existing in the region is strongly marked by small-scale production; the involvement of unpaid family workers in the production process; the combination of the incomes earned from on-, out- and off-farm activities and, to a limited extent, these households live under the threat of poverty. According to the results of the household financial analysis it could be stated that the main financial characteristics of households are the following: a) they are poor and have little ready cash; b) loans to them are usually unavailable; c) they are conscious of an uncertain environment, of cash shortage, and of household responsibilities and therefore are risk-averse; d) they often suffer cyclical labour shortage and under-employment; e) they are economically rational but not necessary profit maximising because they have their own scales of utility. The results of the analysis led to one priority goal, ranked as such by all the households, which was to satisfy the family?s sustenance, namely to supply sufficient food and provide housing for the family at all times. Only when food supply is guaranteed households will think of how to generate cash from their farm, in order to satisfy other needs which are part of an improved standard of living. Commercializing production does not come as a desire to maximize profit, but rather a need to generate cash income for subsistence purposes.

Agroforestry (AF) or agroforestry innovation (AFI) production has long been and continues to be a component of the mixed farming system of Ethiopian and smallholder farmers worldwide. Interventions continue introducing new or improved management practices, species, and techniques to raise AFI's livelihood and natural resource management contributions. Despite considerable efforts, the adoption of these AFI continues to be limited, as proved by several adoption studies and development efforts. Formal and informal studies were conducted for decades to understand the problems for the low adoption of various AFI. Nevertheless, these studies generated redundant and marginally growing important information as it has weakly altered the course of development approaches and policy regulations. Learning from previous studies, researchers have been requesting more robust studies that help address existing knowledge gaps on adopting AFI. To respond to these calls, this PhD project examined the factors affecting the adoption of AFI by smallholders and Ethiopian farmers as a case study. The project builds upon previous studies to explore the diverse perspectives that influence the adoption of AFI. Literature assessment of recent studies indicated that several factors belonging to farmers and institutions influence the adoption of AFI. Simultaneously, we discovered that some issues were explored frequently (e.g., socioeconomic factors), whereas others (e.g., psychological factors) were largely ignored. Besides, researchers have followed the static assumption (i.e., adopt or non-adopt) and failed to learn the adoption process beyond a one-time decision. Additionally, the studies focused on discrete factors and activities and failed to comprehend the diverse perspectives and factors and their combined effect on eventual AFI adoption. Ultimately, learning from the larger adoption science and previous studies, we developed a comprehensive framework, 'AFI adoption framework' (chapter 4.1), that supports the meaningful assessment of adoption practices and comprehensively discovers factors influencing AFI adoption. The framework encompassed three compartmentalized and yet interlinked components that influence AFI adoption under smallholder contexts. The framework commended both distinct studies for exhaustive elaboration and simultaneously suggested holistic examination. Besides, it recommended minor and major modifications to the research approaches, such as proper treatment of variables in econometric models, incorporation of variables related to the psychological status, and employment of robust tools such as the real-options approach for profitability analysis. Based on this framework, we designed a project and conducted fieldwork in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, a typical smallholder context. We explored the household contexts (i.e., farm level and psychological), system level features, and innovation characteristics influencing smallholders' AFI adoption decisions. It employed mixed conventional and advanced analytical tools comprising content analysis, econometric models, principal component analysis, and financial discounting methods. Advanced methods comprehend process analysis and adoption dynamism. The results from discrete analysis indicated that socioeconomic factors, psychological constructs, system level features, and innovation attributes influence AFI adoption. Regarding innovation characteristics, the different attributes are foundations for undertaking AFI adoption decisions of smallholder farmers. Beyond adopt-non-adopt concepts, we found farmers continuously undertake follow-up adoptions of varying extents such as reduced, maintained, and increased. Based on our query and comparable to existing frameworks, the newly developed 'AFI adoption framework' is more reasonable to meaningfully investigate factors influencing AFI (and agricultural innovations) adoption under smallholder contexts. However, there is a need for precaution while employing the framework to more clearly discern the adoption process and reflect the integration among the factors and activities involved from the development to the adoption of AFI. This dissertation excluded empirical analysis of profitability and holistic assessment due to the voluminous nature of the dissertation.:PREFACE ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii SUMMARY iv ZUSAMMENFASSUNG vi LIST OF FIGURES ix LIST OF TABLES xi ACRONYMS xi 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Agroforestry in Ethiopia 1 1.2. Problem statement 4 1.3. Objectives and research questions 6 1.4. Scope of the study 7 1.5. Dissertation structure 8 2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 11 2.1. The adoption concept 11 2.2. Theoretical frameworks on adoption 12 2.3. The critique and research context 16 2.4. The AFI adoption analytical framework 17 2.5. Description of links between objectives and research questions 19 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 21 3.1. Description of the study area 21 3.2. Selection of innovations and farmers 22 3.3. Research methods 23 3.3.1. Data collection methods 23 3.3.2. Sampling technique and sample size 24 3.3.3. Data analysis 25 4. RESULTS 26 4.1. Agroforestry adoption as a systems concept: a review 27 4.2. Can a sequential analysis provide a more robust understanding of farmers’ adoption decisions? an example from an agroforestry adoption study in Ethiopia 58 4.3. Farmers’ intentions towards sustained agroforestry adoption: an application of the theory of planned behavior 88 4.4. Adoption under the influence of innovation attributes: the case of agroforestry innovations from Ethiopia 111 4.5. Influence of system level factors on adoption of agroforestry innovations 141 5. SYNTHESIS and CONCLUSION 170 5.1. Synthesis of key findings 170 5.1.1. State of AFI adoption research in SSA 170 5.1.2. Persistent calls for rigorous research 172 5.1.3. Critical factors affecting AFI adoption 173 5.1.4. Conceptualizing adoption as a complex decision process 175 5.2. Reflections on research method, theoretical framework, and generalization 177 5.2.1. Reflection on research methods and analytical generalization 177 5.2.2. Reflection on the theoretical framework and theoretical contribution 179 5.3. Outlook and suggestions 184 5.4.1. Recommendations for future research 185 5.4.2. Development and policy recommendations 186 5.5. Limitations of the study 186 REFERENCES 187 APPENDICES 192

Afrikanisches einheimisches Gemüse (AIVs) hat in letzter Zeit in ganz Afrika südlich der Sahara (SSA) aufgrund des zunehmenden Bewusstseins für deren Ernährung und gesundheitlichen Nutzen größere Anerkennung gefunden. Dieses wachsende Verbraucherbewusstsein hat zu einer erhöhten Nachfrage nach AIV-Verbrauch geführt, was wiederum zu einer verstärkten Produktion von AIV geführt hat. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war es daher, das Ausmaß und die zugrunde liegenden Faktoren zu bewerten, die Einfluss auf die Einführung nachhaltiger Intensivierungsmethoden (SIPs) haben (Einsatz von verbesserten Bewässerungssystemen, integrierte Bodendüngung, organischer Dünger und AIV - Diversifizierung) (2) Die Übernahme von SIP in Bezug auf den Lebensunterhalt der Landwirte und (3) eine Bewertung der wirtschaftlichen Leistung und der ökologischen Ergebnisse von Bodendüngungsstrategien, um Bodenbewirtschaftungsstrategien zu empfehlen, die die Produktion, den Lebensunterhalt und den Klimaschutz optimieren. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass der Einsatz von organischem Dünger und die Diversifizierung der AIV in ländlichen und stadtnahen Produktionsgebieten weit verbreitet waren, wohingegen verbesserte Bewässerungssysteme und ein integriertes Bodenfruchtbarkeitsmanagement eher gering waren und in ländlichen Gebieten sogar erheblich niedriger waren als in Stadtrandgebieten. Darüber hinaus wurden Komplementaritäten und Substituierbarkeiten zwischen SIPs identifiziert, was darauf hindeutet, dass eine Änderung der Richtlinien, die sich auf ein einzelnes SIP auswirkt, Auswirkungen auf andere verwandte SIPs haben kann. Die Ergebnisse der Determinanten von SIP zeigen, dass die Marktintegration, das Haushaltseinkommen und die städtischen Gemüseproduktionsumgebungen die Haupttreiber der Akzeptanz waren. Darüber hinaus erhöht die Einführung von SIPs sowohl das Gesamteinkommen der Haushalte als auch die Ernte. Darüber hinaus optimiert die integrierte Strategie zur Bodenfruchtbarkeit die Wirtschafts- und Umweltleistung. Daher ist ein integriertes Bodenfruchtbarkeitsmanagement ein möglicher Weg, um die AIV-Produktion nachhaltig zu intensivieren. / African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) have recently gained greater recognition across sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) because of increased awareness on their nutrition and health benefits. This rising consumer consciousness has caused an increase in demand for consumption of AIVs, which in turn has led to increased intensification of AIV production. The aim of this thesis was therefore, to evaluate the level and underlying factors influencing the adoption of sustainable intensification practices (SIPs) (use of improved irrigation systems, integrated soil fertilisation, organic manure and AIV diversification), (2) examined the impacts of SIP adoption on farmers’ livelihoods, and (3) assessed economic performance and ecological outcomes of soil fertilisation strategies in order to recommend soil fertility management strategies which optimises production, livelihood and climate trade-offs. The results revealed that use of organic manure and AIV diversification were widely adopted across rural and peri-urban production areas while improved irrigation systems and integrated soil fertility management was rather low, and even significantly lower in rural areas than in peri-urban areas. Moreover, complementarities and substitutabilities between SIPs were also identified indicating that a change in policy affecting a single SIP might have a spill over effect on other related SIPs. The results of determinants of SIPs shows that market integration, household income and peri-urban vegetable production environments were the major drivers of adoption. In addition, adoption of SIPs significantly increases both total household and crop incomes. Furthermore, integrated soil fertility manage strategy optimises economic and environmental performance. Therefore, integrated soil fertility management is a potential pathway to sustainably intensify AIV production.

In this study, farm forestry decision criteria were elicited by adopting a behavioral decision-making study approach from households in ten Peasant Associations of the study district. Major decision objectives, available alternatives, constraints, and the likelihood of the chance events were elicited through a questionnaire survey, participatory observation, detailed discussion, and review of archival information. It was found that farmers generally, plant various tree and shrub species for meeting various household needs and for generating cash incomes. The goal of cash generation is for sustenance of livelihoods through fulfillment of various basic obligations and overcoming unforeseen contingencies. The three most economically important tree/shrub species were eucalypts, coffee, and t?chat. Eucalypt wood covers nearly all the construction needs and constitutes a substantial part of the fuelwood consumptions. Coffee and t?chat are vital sources of cash income and makeup an important part of daily diets. Growing of eucalypts for cash income is mainly constrained by lack of access road, low farm gate prices, high competition with food crops for soil nutrients and moisture, and shortage of land and labor. The household uses and cash values of coffee are generally, undermined by high incidence of berry disease and lack of manure. Financial benefits of t?chat are weakened by high local tax rates. The logistic regression analysis confirms that agro-ecological zone, sex of household head, number of eucalypt trees owned, and age of household head represent important explanatory variables that explain farmers readiness to expand eucalypt woodlots. The model so constructed correctly predicted 84.1 % of the households that established additional eucalypt woodlots mainly for cash generation. The total number of eucalypt trees owned by households is significantly related to the attitude of the household head towards eucalypts, wealth status, and landholding size of the household. Financial viability of eucalypt woodlots was assessed through both methods of conventional economic calculations and Chayanovian calculations. Both methods confirmed the highly lucrative markets of eucalypt poles as compared to agricultural crop production. This is mainly because of lack of access to more profitable production techniques and low productivity of agricultural crops per unit area. Otherwise, farm gate prices of eucalypt poles are far from being attractive and outperforming that of agricultural crops.

The overall objective of the study was to analyse the Forest Dwelling Systems in the Terra Firme and Várzea communities and to investigate the conditions under which the different activities are allocated across households. In this study, the Farming System Approach facilitates a holistic examination of the Forest Dwelling Household System. This study broadly analyses the importance of natural products and their role as consumption and as goods for cash income for forest dwellers. By focusing on the functions of those products, their role within the Forest Dweller System must be examined. There have been identified differences between the Terra Firme (upland) and Várzea (floodplain) ecosystems management and production systems that are still ignored by decision makers. The study area was identified based on certain criteria: a) accessibility to the area (field support), b) availability of the forest production and, c) ecosystem (Terra Firme and Várzea communities). The survey was conducted in one community at the Terra Firme region (Itacoã) and in three communities at the Várzea region (Monte Tabor, Nova Santa Cruz, Manoel Carneiro). In selecting the households, the dependence on extraction of forest resources as the principal source of income was used as the major criteria, and part-time households were excluded from the studies. In order to obtain data on the structure of the entire Forest Dwelling Household System, productive activities within the house garden, cropping and forest extraction, financial and marketing aspects, were analyzed in 60 households (48 in Terra Firme and 12 in Várzea communities). Data concerning demography, socio-cultural aspects, labour force, land tenure were also gathered and analyzed. For this purpose households and key informants were interviewed with the use of a semi-structured questionnaire; participative observation was carried out and market research was executed. The households live basically to sustenance. A purely subsistence oriented family can only be identified as such if its production objectives are merely meant to fulfil subsistence needs. The type of forest dwelling household system existing in the region is strongly marked by small-scale production; the involvement of unpaid family workers in the production process; the combination of the incomes earned from on-, out- and off-farm activities and, to a limited extent, these households live under the threat of poverty. According to the results of the household financial analysis it could be stated that the main financial characteristics of households are the following: a) they are poor and have little ready cash; b) loans to them are usually unavailable; c) they are conscious of an uncertain environment, of cash shortage, and of household responsibilities and therefore are risk-averse; d) they often suffer cyclical labour shortage and under-employment; e) they are economically rational but not necessary profit maximising because they have their own scales of utility. The results of the analysis led to one priority goal, ranked as such by all the households, which was to satisfy the family?s sustenance, namely to supply sufficient food and provide housing for the family at all times. Only when food supply is guaranteed households will think of how to generate cash from their farm, in order to satisfy other needs which are part of an improved standard of living. Commercializing production does not come as a desire to maximize profit, but rather a need to generate cash income for subsistence purposes.

In this study, farm forestry decision criteria were elicited by adopting a behavioral decision-making study approach from households in ten Peasant Associations of the study district. Major decision objectives, available alternatives, constraints, and the likelihood of the chance events were elicited through a questionnaire survey, participatory observation, detailed discussion, and review of archival information. It was found that farmers generally, plant various tree and shrub species for meeting various household needs and for generating cash incomes. The goal of cash generation is for sustenance of livelihoods through fulfillment of various basic obligations and overcoming unforeseen contingencies. The three most economically important tree/shrub species were eucalypts, coffee, and t?chat. Eucalypt wood covers nearly all the construction needs and constitutes a substantial part of the fuelwood consumptions. Coffee and t?chat are vital sources of cash income and makeup an important part of daily diets. Growing of eucalypts for cash income is mainly constrained by lack of access road, low farm gate prices, high competition with food crops for soil nutrients and moisture, and shortage of land and labor. The household uses and cash values of coffee are generally, undermined by high incidence of berry disease and lack of manure. Financial benefits of t?chat are weakened by high local tax rates. The logistic regression analysis confirms that agro-ecological zone, sex of household head, number of eucalypt trees owned, and age of household head represent important explanatory variables that explain farmers readiness to expand eucalypt woodlots. The model so constructed correctly predicted 84.1 % of the households that established additional eucalypt woodlots mainly for cash generation. The total number of eucalypt trees owned by households is significantly related to the attitude of the household head towards eucalypts, wealth status, and landholding size of the household. Financial viability of eucalypt woodlots was assessed through both methods of conventional economic calculations and Chayanovian calculations. Both methods confirmed the highly lucrative markets of eucalypt poles as compared to agricultural crop production. This is mainly because of lack of access to more profitable production techniques and low productivity of agricultural crops per unit area. Otherwise, farm gate prices of eucalypt poles are far from being attractive and outperforming that of agricultural crops.

During the last decades “Climate Change” has become a vital topic on national and international political agendas. There it is presented as an irrevocable fact of global impact and thus of universal relevance. What has often been neglected are local discourses of marginalized groups and their specific contextualization of “Climate Change” phenomena. The aim of this project, to develop another perspective along these dominant narratives, has resulted in the research question How is social reality reconstructed on the phenomenon of “Climate Change” among the “Emerging Black Farmers” in the Swartland region in Western Cape, South Africa? Taken as an example, “Climate Change Knowledge” is reconstructed through a case study on the information exchange between the NGO Goedgedacht Trust and local small-scale farmers in the post-Apartheid context of on-going political, social, economic and educational transition in South Africa. Applying a constructivist approach, “Climate Change Knowledge” is not understood as an objectively given, but a socially constructed “reality” that is based on the interdependency of socio-economic conditions and individual assets, including language skills and language practice, sets of social norms and values, as well as strategies of knowledge transfer. The data set consists of qualitative data sources, such as application forms and interview material, which are triangulated. The rationale of a multi-layered data analysis includes a discursive perspective as well as linguistic and ethical “side perspectives”. Epistemologically, the thesis is guided by assumptions of complexity theory, framing knowledge around “Climate Change” as a fluid, constantly changing system that is shaped by constant intra- and inter-systemic exchange processes, and characterized by non-linearity, self-organization and representation of its constituents. From this point of departure, a theoretical terminology has been developed, which differentiates between symbols, interrelations, contents and content clusters. These elements are located in a system of spatio-temporal orientation and embedded into a broader (socio-economic) context of “historicity”. Content clusters are remodelled with the help of concept maps. Starting from that, a local perspective on “Climate Change” is developed, adding an experiential notion to the global narratives. The thesis concludes that there is no single reality about “Climate Change” and that the farmers’ “Climate Change Knowledge” highly depends on experiential relativity and spatio-temporal immediacy. Furthermore, analysis has shown that the system’s historicity and social manifestations can be traced in the scope and emphasis of the content clusters discussed. Finally the thesis demonstrates that characteristics of symbols, interconnections and contents range between dichotomies of direct and indirect, predictable versus unpredictable, awareness and negligence or threat and danger, all coexisting and creating a continuum of knowledge production.

In Guinea-Bissau stehen sich zwei unterschiedliche Bodenrechtssysteme gegenüber: das auf gemeinschaftliche Nutzung ausgerichtete, lokal verankerte "traditionelle" Bodenrecht (Gewohnheitsrecht) und das an Privateigentum orientierte "moderne" staatliche Bodenrecht. Privatbesitz an Grund und Boden war bis in jüngste Zeit kaum ein Konfliktfaktor. Das änderte sich aber recht bald nach der Unabhängigkeit, nachdem die Regierung auf internationalen Druck hin in den 1980er Jahren die Wirtschaft liberalisierte und Tausende von Hektar Land binnen kurzer Zeit in Privateigentum übergingen. Die Dissertation analysiert Vorgeschichte, Verlauf und Bedeutung der Bodenkommerzialisierung für die kleinbäuerliche Ökonomie und rurale Gesellschaft in Guinea-Bissau. Lokale Landrechtsvorstellungen und Landnutzungssysteme sowie die Agrarproduktion in den Untersuchungsregionen Biombo und Gabú werden dargestellt. Die in zwei längeren Forschungsaufenthalten 1997 / 1998 in Guinea-Bissau erhobenen Daten (hauptsächlich Interviews mit ländlicher Bevölkerung, teilnehmende Beobachtung) bestätigen, dass Kleinbauern das Rückgrat afrikanischer Gesellschaften bilden und sie durchaus flexibel und fähig zu Innovationen in bezug auf die Landnutzung und Lösung von Bodenkonflikten sind. In Guinea-Bissau hat die Bodenprivatisierung zu einem Cajuboom geführt. Heute ist das kleine Land weltweit fünfter Cajunussexporteur, doch extrem abhängig von dieser Monokultur. Die negativen Folgen der Bodenkommerzialisierung für die kleinbäuerliche Landwirtschaft und ihre Sozialstruktur überwiegen. Die komplizierte Landbetitelung und die Verteidigungsstrategien der Kleinbauern gegen die neuen Grundbesitzer, die Ponteiros, werden genauer untersucht. Schliesslich analysiert der Verfasser die im Zuge massiver Bodenprivatisierung entstandenen Landkonflikte und präsentiert einige Vorschläge für alternative Landbetitelungssysteme, die sowohl das „traditionelle“ wie auch das „moderne“ Bodenrecht berücksichtigen. / Two different legal systems of land rights face each other in Guinea-Bissau: a) the locally based “traditional” land rights (customary law) which are orientated on common land use and b) the private property-oriented “modern” state land laws. Private ownership of land until recently was hardly a conflict factor. However, that changed soon after independence, when the government liberalized the economy due to international pressure and thousands of hectares of land passed over to private ownership within a short time frame. This thesis analyzes the historical background, the process and the importance of individual land tenure (private ownership) for the rural economy and society in Guinea-Bissau. The author presents local land tenure conceptions’, land use systems and the agricultural production in two regions, Biombo and Gabú. The data (mainly interviews with rural population, participant observation) of two extended research stays 1997 / 1998 confirm that small farmers are the backbone of African societies and that they are quite flexible and able to innovation with respect to land use and the resolution of land conflicts. The individualization of land tenure has led to a boom in cashew tree cultivation. Today Guinea-Bissau is the world’s fifth largest exporter of cashew nuts, but also extremely dependent on this monoculture. The negative consequences of private land tenure on the smallholder agriculture and social rural structures prevail, because often land is acquired for speculative interests, bank security etc. The complicated titling of individual land property and the defence strategies of small farmers against the new landowners, the Ponteiros, are discussed in depth. Finally the land conflicts that result from the massive land privatisation are analyzed and the author elaborates possible alternative arrangements to the current titling of land properties, considering both the “traditional” and the “modern” land tenure system alike.