The land issue in the context of peacebuilding: development or conflict? Fernando Pacheco (2004) The importance of land use and ownership in Angola makes it central to long-term reconstruction and reconciliation. Fernando Pacheco examines how a ‘dualist’ agricultural structure (between small family farming and large commercial farming) was created in the colonial period, reinforced by laws based on racial discrimination. This division, combined with the rural-urban divide, was reflected in the conflict, which itself recast land ownership and use. Many issues have yet to be addressed, in particular the conflict between legal/institutionalized and customary/informal land use, which, along with population return, has lead to new localized conflicts over land. The author concludes that a combination of commercial and family agriculture in a modernizing but locally-rooted development process is crucial for reconstruction and a lasting peace.
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