Farming after fighting: Agricultural recovery after conflict

Civil conflicts across the Global South have intensified since the 2010s, raising questions about how agriculture rebounds after prolonged violence. A review of six post‑conflict settings, Cambodia, Mozambique, Peru’s southern highlands, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and northern Uganda, shows that war inflicted severe losses on rural populations, destroying lives, assets, infrastructure and public services. Despite this, agricultural recovery was rapid in all cases except northern Uganda. Growth reflected both a rebound effect as farmers returned to abandoned land and sustained post‑conflict expansion, with production often surpassing pre‑war levels. Smallholders drove much of this growth, even where governments provided minimal support due to competing priorities and limited resources.