See also

Agricultural land appropriation processes in developing countries... Research takes stock (CIRAD press release, July 2009)

Contact

Perrine Burnod
Montpellier, France
perrine.burnod@cirad.fr
Ward Anseeuw
Pretoria, South Africa
ward.anseeuw@cirad.fr
Jean-Philippe Tonneau
Montpellier, France
jean-philippe.tonneau@cirad.fr

Land for sale!

23/10/2009 - Article

Food security, agrofuels, speculation… the market for land for sale or rent has been booming over the past two years. The phenomenon is nothing new, but has never before been seen on such a huge scale. The main documents relating to the conference organized by CIRAD on 3 September 2009, on the question of large-scale land investment, are now available: videos, four-page report, synopsis.

Food security, agrofuels, speculation… the market for land for sale or rent has been booming over the past two years. The phenomenon is nothing new, but has never before been seen on such a huge scale.
On 3 September, CIRAD organized a day-long conference on the question. Numerous researchers, and also representatives of NGOs, firms or associations, met to try to get a handle on the real extent of this race for land. The initial results of the studies being conducted by the World Bank, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the FAO and IFAD were presented, along with case studies, notably of Madagascar, the question of tropical forests, and land ownership dynamics in Brazil. Conclusion: the analyses and observations done to date cast some doubt on the real benefits that developing countries might derive from the phenomenon. Production management schemes involving local farmers are one alternative it would be worth taking a good look at.

Download the report (in French)

Access the conference synopsis and videos (in French)