ABSTRACT
Statistics on the degree of land fragmentation are collected from time to time by agricultural census in those countries where it is a problem. In a world perspective they are probably the most significant types of structural change at the present time, they have received exhaustive analysis already from, amongst others, Dorner, Jackson, King and Symons. Rather, attention is focused on the processes of land consolidation and farm enlargement, and for convenience on the context of developed economies. The causes of land fragmentation can be grouped under three main headings: socio-cultural, economic and physical. Socio-cultural causes appear to predominate, with inheritance laws playing a particularly influential role. At a low level of economic development land fragmentation has certain advantages. Land consolidation is concerned with the rearrangement and reallocation of scattered plots of land. Structural change in agriculture, therefore, is a topic worthy of further consideration by rural geographers.
