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Box 5 Sale of land: examples oflegal issuesIn the collective certificate of land ownership award(CLOA) system of the Philippines not even a majorityof the collective can decide to sell, mortgage or usethe title as collateral to obtain formal credit. Underthe Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program of thesame country, there was a prohibition on any formof transfer within 10 years of award. In addition, afive-hectare ceiling on ownership was set and onlyqualified farmers can buy awarded land. This didnot stop but increase transfers and pushed theminto extra-legality with adverse consequences forthe poor (NCLEP Philippines 2006). In Armenia,a three-year moratorium was imposed after landprivatisation in 1991. In Ukraine, a 6-year salesmoratorium will expire in 2005, but many exemptionshave circumvented this measure. A Kyrgyzmoratorium on the sale of agricultural land was putinto place when land was privatised and allocated,but it was subsequently lifted in September 2001.The Moldovan Land Code contained a 10-year moratoriumon sales that was declared unconstitutionaland lifted in late 1996. Some countries have attemptedto protect new landowners from the dangerof mortgage foreclosure by setting moratoria onmortgages; for example, a 1997 Russian law prohibitedmortgages on agricultural land (Russian LawOn Mortgage 1997).Ceilings of ownership work in some contexts forsome time but have adverse consequences forthe poor in the long run. 156 Sales moratoria areconsidered a successful practice, provided thetime is used for public education on land values,financial literacy, and participation in land markets.157 Where the moratoria extend over a longeramount of time, they install barriers which do notcorrespond to the needs and capabilities of thepoor. Notwithstanding prohibitions, land pawningtransactions, direct sales, sales through waiver ofrights, sales through pawning, and sales throughland conversion arrangements are sometimeswidespread. Ultimately, these transfers augmentthe risk of losing land rights.Bringing the Poor into the Market: Opportunitiesand Responsibilities of Medium and Large Companies.Large companies, regardless of their industry,can stimulate local markets and increase the valueof the real, moveable, and equity property of thepoor by enabling them to become active participantsin their chains of value addition. Inclusionof the poor in the value chain creates businessopportunities for the next decade. Designing businessmodels to address this challenge opens newopportunities for company growth as well as forbroadening the assets base for the poor. Manybusiness leaders now believe that the planet’s poormust become part of company growth strategy,and that the presence of their enterprise in a developingnation will be crucial to their long-termsuccess, with the advantage going to early movers.To be successful, however, such projects must bebased on the real needs, capabilities, and realitiesof low-income communities. 158The focus on business implies focus on profitability.If the projects realise the goal of profitability,this means that they have no limited, fixed budget.The new business can thus become replicable andlead to a remarkable empowering impact. Providingbusiness solutions for the poor and with thepoor can cover a multitude of activities. The guidingprinciple is that companies should engage thepoor in a business relationship that relates directlyto their core commercial operations.The poor may be customers and can profit frommore affordable products. 159 The poor may also bebusiness partners, suppliers, and/or distributors.The poor can be considered as partners creatingadded value at every stage of the delivery of aservice/product designed to serve their needs. 160By bringing small entrepreneurs and local small101