The Gender and Equity Implications of Land-Related Investments on Labour and Income-Generating Opportunities. A Case Study of Agricultural Investments in Lao PDR

Concerns about the potential gender and equity implications of land-related investments on labour and income-generating opportunities and access, use and control of land come in the context of the current global policy interest in supporting agricultural investment in developing countries in general. However, there is a long history of land-related investments in developing countries, particularly agricultural investments, which partially explains the current concerns. Over the last 60-70 years, large-scale rural development and agricultural investment schemes have been a feature of economic development efforts in many former colonies and newly-independent states, albeit mainly in the period up to the ‘structural adjustment’ crises of the 1980s when the importance of the private sector for sustainable development started to become increasingly clear. These land-related development schemes frequently had very strong government involvement and donor financial support, and they are therefore not directly comparable with the current situation where the private sector is generally much more involved.