Does community-based self-selection of land reform beneficiares work? An assessment of the Brazilian Cédula da Terra Pilot Program

This article addresses a particularly relevant issue for the sustainability and effectiveness of agrarian reform policies: the selection of beneficiaries. The study is part of a thorough evaluation of the Célula da Terra Community- Based Pilot Program, which presents a radical shift from the traditional approach of expropriation-distribution in land reform. The program’s rationale and the expected results of its governance structure towards targeting are presented here. In addition, the article provides empirical evidence on how the program is actually reaching the targeting population in Brazil.