... but a Particularly Complex and Delicate Instrument

45. The benefits of such a reform will not be forthcoming, however, unless its programmes are correctly formulated. Their success must not be compromised by the error of thinking that agrarian reform refers simply to expropriation of large landholdings, their division into productive units compatible with the working capacity of individual families, and distribution of this land to those who have been accorded title to it.

An agrarian reform programme must certainly have short-term objectives so that it can have immediate results, given the serious nature of the social problems involved. It must therefore ensure that access to land fully meets these objectives. In the medium and long term, however, if agrarian reform is confined simply to land redistribution, the struggle against poverty and under-development will not be won.

The commitment to ensuring access to land constitutes merely the first part of the programme if agrarian reform is to offer a practical and sustainable response to the serious economic and social problems of the agricultural sector in developing countries. The programme must continue to be developed over time and encompass actions that will ensure access both to the inputs and infrastructures that allow for a steady improvement in agricultural productivity and the marketing of such produce, as well as the enjoyment of the social services that improve people's quality of life and capacity for self-development, and consequently respect for indigenous populations. A final factor indispensable for the success of an agrarian reform is that it should be in full accord with national policies and those of international bodies.