This dataset is the result of a project that aimed to assess the effect of a land managers' value-chain connection on land-use and cover-change. This value-chain connection was characterized by describing how a person managing agricultural land is connected to a value chain, in terms of agency, distance to consumers, and environmental norms. The influence of these factors on land use and -cover change was explored by means of a systematic literature review of global case studies, resulting in this dataset. It covers 198 reviewed documents and 531 distinct cases that were distinguished, with information on land use and -cover change, information on value-chain connection, information on location and severable other variables. Analyses of the data shows that among land managers not connected to value chains at all (i.e., subsistence), and among those selling in short supply-chains, a decrease in intensification is more frequently observed than among other land managers. Land-use change is also influenced by environmental standards, particularly for farmers selling to longer supply-chains, who frequently adopt environmentally friendly practices. These findings reflect knowledge from a range of disciplines that we were able to consolidate through use of the conceptualisation of agency, distance and norms. Using this conceptualisation to extend existing theories of land-system change and, together with other characterisations of land managers to represent human decision-making in land-use modelling, would mean a significant advancement compared to current approaches that neglect the shape of local value-chains.