The SMAIAS has played a leading role in reviving debates on agrarian development, including the centrality of equitable access to land as a necessary precondition for sustainable development. Regional organisations (African Union, Economic Commission for Africa, NEPAD, SADC, etc), multi-lateral and bilateral institutions (UNDP, WB, EU, SIDA, MDTF and CIDA), as well as national governments (South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Sierra Leone) have, over the last ten year period, sought advice from SMAIAS on agrarian reform policies. SMAIAS has also been a resource for numerous civil society initiatives on agrarian change in Zimbabwe and regionally (e.g. Southern African Land and Agrarian Network and South-South Peoples Dialogue).