Ownership as a basis for land allocation

In order to build an economic base, make long-range plans and utilize maximum production capability, rural communities need a system of land allocation responsive to internal and external market needs. This is particularly true in communities where little land is available. At present, old patterns of land allocation in many communities prohibit economic growth. Such allocation is traditionally related to ownership rather than production. Much of the land is divided into small plots designed to produce the daily needs of one or more families, and not cultivated to produce crops for outside markets. The system of land caretakers when owners are away prohibits full use of some good productive land; and the complexity of land procurement and the tradition of short-range production schemes deter effective allocations. Ownership as the only relationship to land use thus serves to prohibit maximum productivity.