land reform

American  

noun

1. any program, especially when undertaken by a national government, involving the redistribution of agricultural land among the landless.

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land reform British  

noun

1. the redistributing of large agricultural holdings among the landless

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Etymology

Origin of land reform

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Example Sentences

It is a dramatic turnaround for a sector that crashed to 48,000 tonnes in 2008 in the wake of a botched government land reform programme that led to the seizure of hundreds of commercial farms.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

Under Árbenz, Guatemala implemented a land reform program in 1952 that gave landless farmworkers their own undeveloped plots.

From Salon • Jan. 18, 2026

After decades of repression, the nation democratically elected Juan José Arévalo and then Jacobo Árbenz, under whom, in 1952, Guatemala implemented a land reform program that gave landless farmworkers their own undeveloped plots.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2026

His 2001 land reform program redistributed government-owned and private land to indigent residents willing to cultivate it.

From Slate • Jan. 15, 2026

“The peasant cooperatives, the land reform, the Taste Salt class, the ti kominote legliz—” People shouting now.

From "Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti" by Frances Temple