Farming without a future: a study of land access for agroecological farmers within sustainable land tenure arrangements in Noord-Brabant
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2026-01-16
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en
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This thesis explores land tenure arrangements in the province of Noord-Brabant, and subsequently analyzes how these arrangements (do not) facilitate agroecological farmers who seek land. Using an instrumental case study design, this thesis investigates how agroecological principles for land tenure, developed by AE farmer collective ‘Toekomstboeren’, align or misalign with sustainable tenure models employed by public lessors in the province of Noord-Brabant. Then, the Policy Arrangement Approach (PAA) is used as an analytical-explanatory framework to examine how the interplay of actors, rules, resources, and discourses shape this (mis)alignment. While the results are context-specific to the province of Brabant, and thus limited in generalizability, the PAA analysis indicated that the misalignments are rooted in a ‘productivist path dependency’, characterized by the discourse that land is a financial asset. The thesis concludes with three key take-aways. First, the agroecological movement should prioritize public recognition and legitimacy before seeking institutionalisation into public tenure policy. Second, the limits of tenure reform as a policy instrument within a capitalist agrarian structure should be recognized. Third, overcoming path dependency in the context of (agricultural) land governance requires that transformational actors (agroecology advocates) mobilize their agency to either alter or introduce new discourses, and possibly form new coalitions.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen