Villagization is a type of land reform policy that aims mainly to increase the output of agriculture in a country and improve the standard of living by "the resettlement of all households outside areas of dense settlements into villages". While this often produces short-term successes it causes many problems in the long run. The emphasis placed on the quantity of agriculture produced causes resource management problems and has many environmental repercussions.
Villagization has been implemented in various countries in Africa. One example is Tanzania which adopted a villagization policy in 1967. In 1975, 75 percent of Tanzania's population lived in villages. "This was a dramatic change from the situation in the mid 1960s, when it was estimated that 86 per cent of Tanzania's population lived in scattered homesteads, that is, outside villages and towns" (Maro and Mlay 1982).
Villagization causes a great deal of change in land use patterns and the existing agricultural methods causing changes (often for the worse) in the environment and landscape.