The extent to which recent African civil wars have also been agrarian crises has been seriously underestimated. Donors and policy-makers risk reviving the causes of war by failing to understand the rural roots of recent African conflicts, and the part played by marriage, labour, gender and youth disempowerment in fostering conflict. With examples from Sierra Leone and Liberia in particular, this paper argues that attention to agrarian justice is now essential in order to avoid further violence. Originally induced to fight by promises of food, jobs and marriage partners, now many ex-combatants (including women) want to go home to rural areas, but are unwilling to do so without major agrarian reforms. Five policy requirements in fundamental agrarian reform are highlighted here: land tenancy reform; marriage reform to protect women’s property rights, reform of local courts; reform of schooling to focus on rural requirements; and reform of rural skills training to include appropriate business methods and Information technologies (IT).