Unravelling the ‘land grab’ - How to protect the livelihoods of the poor?

Sep 2010

Land grabbing is a broad term, which in the current debates refers to the large-scale acquisition of land in developing countries by (foreign) companies or governments. These acquisitions have the positive potential to inject investment in agriculture and rural areas in countries where these investments are highly necessary. In opposition, the media as well as the international community observe the deals with increasing apprehension about the real impact of these investments in land. This concerns the effects of the deals on development and food security in general, and on the livelihoods of the local population in particular.
The paradox between the need for investment in agriculture in developing countries on the one hand, and the potential negative consequences of these investments on development on the other, is holding back a clear understanding of the phenomenon. As IFAD notes, to date information and empirical research have been limited. In addition, most investments are still in its early stages so it is difficult to predict how these will work out. The actual benefits of the land deals are widely unknown, and only preliminary considerations are formulated on the potential adverse impact of the land grabbing phenomenon on poor rural people and communities. Nonetheless, many international organisations are pointing out the massive and fast character of land grabbing these days, which is said to include the significant evasion of land rights. In an effort to come to terms with the opportunity-threat incongruity, the international community highlights in particular that it is essential that deals for land acquisition are designed in a way that will reduce the threats and increase the opportunities for all parties involved.
When analysing the phenomenon, several issues come up that are of great interest to the development debate. Land grabbing covers many links between land and commercial interests, which are related to agriculture (think of food, feed and fuel needs), extractive industries, industries or tourism. However, the most prominent debate in the media and the one the international organisations such as the FAO and the ILC point at is related to agricultural lands. In this debate, land grabbing in broad terms borders issues of food security as well as of access to natural resources.
First, the relevant theory is discussed in chapter 2, which introduces the key concepts and human rights that are important for the ON approach of land grabs. Chapter 3 delves into the content, scale and importance of the land grab debate. Chapter 4 discusses the Mali case.
Building on the information of all these chapters, chapter 5 looks at the land grab from a rights-perspective and analyses what this means for Oxfam Novib. In the end the lessons from this example are used to feed the policy recommendations on a theoretical level.

By: CIDIN, Radboud University Nijmegen / Oxfam Novib

 
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