Egyptian land reform

Egyptian land reform

The post-revolution Egyptian Land Reform was an effort to change land ownership practices in Egypt following the 1952 Revolution launched by Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Free Officers Movement.

Problems prior to 1952

Prior to the 1952 coup that installed Naguib as President, less than six percent of Egypt's population owned more than 65% of the land in Egypt. These major owners had almost autocratic control over the land they owned and charged high rents which averaged 75% of the income generated by the rented land. These high rents coupled with the high interest rates charged by banks plunged many small farmers and peasants into debt. Furthermore, peasants who worked as laborers on farms also suffered, receiving average wages of only eight to fifteen piastres a day.The combination of these circumstances led historian Anouar Abdel Malek to call the pre-reform Egyptian peasantry "an exploited mass surrounded by hunger, disease and death". [Abdel-Malek A, p61] Another historian, Robert Stephens has compared the state of Egyptian peasants before land reform to that of French peasants before the French Revolution. [Stephens R]

Law Number 178

On September 11, 1952, Law Number 178 began the process of land reform in Egypt. The law had numerous provisions that attempted to remedy the Egyptian land problems:
*Land owners were prohibited to possess more than 200 feddans of land. However, fathers with more than 2 children were allowed to own 300 feddans.
*A limit on the rental rate for land was set at seven times the land tax value of the plot of land.
*All land leases were given a minimum duration of three years.
*The government established cooperatives for farmers holding less than five feddans. The members of these cooperatives worked together to obtain supplies such as fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds as well as cooperating to transport their products to market.
*A minimum wage for agricultural workers was set at 18 piastres per day.Additionally, the law provided for the resdistribution of any land that owners held over the limits it established:
*Each affected owner would receive compensation for his excess land in government bonds worth a total of ten times the rental value of the land. These bonds would pay three percent interest and mature in thirty years.
*All land bought by the government would be sold to peasants though no person could obtain more than five feddans from the government. Peasants who bought land would pay the government the cost of the land and a 15% surcharge over a period of thirty years.

Law 178 initially met opposition from Prime Minister Ali Maher Pasha who supported a limit of 500 feddans for land ownership. However, the Revolutionary Command Council demonstrated its power by forcing him to resign, replacing him with Muhammad Naguib and passing the law.

Modifications to Land Reform

In 1958, three provisions of the land reform law were revised:
*The interest on the bonds the government used to repay owners of seized land was lowered to 1.5%.
*People who purchased land from the government were given forty years (in place of thirty) to complete repayment.
*The government surcharge to be paid by purchasers was lowered to 10%.

In 1961, the government again revised the land reform program by lowering the land ownership maximum to one hundred feddans.

Results

Initially, land reform essentially abolished the political influence of major land owners. However, land reform only resulted in the redistribution of about 15% of Egypt's land under cultivation, and by the early 1980s, the effects of land reform in Egypt drew to a halt as the population of Egypt moved away from agriculture. The Egyptian land reform laws were greatly curtailed under Anwar Sadat and eventually abolished.

ee also

*Land reform
*Arab Socialism
*Agrarian Reform

References

*Abdel Malek, Anouar (1968). "Egypt: Military Society". New York: Random House. LCCN 68-14511.
*Stephens, Robert (1971). "Nasser: A Political Biography". New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 671-21224-9.
* [http://reference.allrefer.com/country-guide-study/egypt/egypt57.html "Egypt: The Society and Its Environment"] (1990). Retrieved 31 March 2005.

Notes


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Land reform — Land reforms (also agrarian reform, though that can have a broader meaning) is an often controversial alteration in the societal arrangements whereby government administers possession and use of land. Land reform may consist of a government… …   Wikipedia

  • land reform — any program, esp. when undertaken by a national government, involving the redistribution of agricultural land among the landless. [1840 50, Amer.] * * * Deliberate change in the way agricultural land is held or owned, the methods of its… …   Universalium

  • Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council — The Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) was the body established to supervise Egypt and Sudan after the Revolution of 1952. It initially selected Ali Maher Pasha as Prime Minister, but forced him to resign after conflict over land reform. At that …   Wikipedia

  • Egyptian Revolution of 1952 — The Egyptian Revolution of 1952 ( ar. ثورة 23 يوليو 1952), also known as the July 23 Revolution, began with a military coup d état that took place on July 23, 1952 by a group of young army officers who named themselves The Free Officers Movement …   Wikipedia

  • Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (Egypt) — Egypt This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Egypt …   Wikipedia

  • Egyptian Arabic — Masri redirects here. For other uses, see Masri (disambiguation). Egyptian Arabic اللغة المصرية العامية Pronunciation [elˈloɣæ l.mɑsˤˈɾejjɑ l.ʕæmˈmejjæ] Spoken in Egypt …   Wikipedia

  • 2011 Egyptian revolution — For other revolutions, see Egyptian revolution. 2011 Egyptian revolution Part of the Arab Spring …   Wikipedia

  • Domestic responses to the 2011 Egyptian revolution — This article is about the domestic responses to the 2011 Egyptian protests. For international reactions, see International reactions to the 2011 Egyptian revolution. There have been numerous domestic responses to the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.… …   Wikipedia

  • Ancient Egyptian religion — Part of a series on Ancient Egyptian religion …   Wikipedia

  • Egypt — /ee jipt/, n. 1. Arab Republic of. a republic in NE Africa. 64,791,891; 386,198 sq. mi. (1,000,252 sq. km). Cap.: Cairo. Arabic, Misr. Formerly (1958 71), United Arab Republic. 2. an ancient kingdom in NE Africa: divided into the Nile Delta… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”