The field of land reform may involve greater opportunity for land ownership by the cultivator, consolidating small and uneconomic holdings, or the problem of bringing together the many small, widely dispersed plots belonging to the individual farmer so that he can operate efficiently. Although these problems often overlap, it is with the last mentioned phase, or land consolidation, that this study is primarily concerned.
Land fragmentation is a condition that exists not only in the area studied, but in many other parts of the world; especially in areas which are referred to in recent terminology as "underdeveloped”, and in areas where the population pressures are great. In the area studied and in adjacent regions people have been aware of the seriousness of this problem for generations. Denmark, for instance, completed the work of consolidating farms and breaking up farm villages more than one hundred years ago. As is pointed out in this study, one region of Bavaria accomplished this task more than four hundred years ago. However, in the remainder of the State and in many other countries progress is painfully slow or does not exist. Yet in most countries, including our own, economic and political stability as well as social progress are closely related to the system of agriculture and the status of the farm population. In many parts of the world failure to recognize this fact and to make the necessary adjustments to overcome inherited evils in these institutional patterns have resulted in economic distress and political unrest. Land consolidation is not proposed as a panacea for all ills nor is it proposed that any one technique in toto can be advantageously applied to all places. On the other hand, the advantages of consolidation, where applicable, should be made available wherever possible to these who are now hindered by the handicaps and limitations forced on them by this heritage. Consolidation should be thought of as a basic part of an overall program of education and better farm management.
The problems inherent in the type of agriculture dictated by conditions resulting from the field arrangement pictured in figure l are difficult to envisage, difficult to describe, and difficult to overcome. In the State of Bavaria, approximately 80 percent of all agricultural land (3.15 million hectares) is in more or less the degree of fragmentation indicated in the above picture. The area shown is representative of the typical rural village pattern in the northwestern part of the State.
Some progress has been made toward consolidating these scattered holdings and thereby increasing food production, as well as operating efficiency; making possible a better life for the people of the community (figure 2). However the progress has been slow and costly and with present techniques and procedures it is estimated by officials that the job will not be completed in less than sixty-five years. In order to understand this problem more clearly, its implications and effects; as well as to evaluate current attempts at its solution, this study has been made. / Master of Science
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/52178 |
| Date | January 1952 |
| Creators | Pickrel, Luther James |
| Contributors | Agricultural Economics |
| Publisher | Virginia Polytechnic Institute |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Text |
| Format | 101 leaves, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | OCLC# 20071166 |
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