Land Grab Definition for Dummies

Although hailed by investors, economists and some developing countries as a new path to agricultural development, investing in land in the 21st century has been criticized by some NGOs and commentators as having a negative impact on local communities. International law attempts to regulate these transactions. [3] The methods used to negotiate, approve and monitor contracts between investors and governments have been heavily criticized for their opacity and complexity. Negotiation and approval processes were completed in most cases, with little public disclosure during and after the closing of a transaction. In particular, the approval process can be cumbersome: it ranges from approval by a simple district office to approval by several national government agencies, and is highly subjective and discretionary. [17] In Ethiopia, companies must first obtain an investment license from the central government, identify appropriate land at the district level and negotiate with local leaders, and then sign a contract with the regional investment office. After that, the government will conduct a feasibility study of the project and a capital review process, and finally a lease agreement will be signed and the land will be transferred to the investor. [20] In Tanzania, although the Tanzania Investment Centre facilitates investments, an investor must obtain approval from the ICT, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment, between which communication is often interrupted. [20] Another criticism of land investment is the possibility of large-scale displacement of the local population without adequate compensation, neither in land nor in money. These displacements often lead to resettlement in marginal countries, loss of livelihoods, especially among pastoralists, gendered erosion of social networks. [ref. needed] Villagers were most often compensated according to national guidelines for loss of land, loss of improvements over time in the countryside, and sometimes future harvests.

[20] However, compensation guidelines vary considerably from country to country and depending on the type of projects undertaken. An IIED study concluded that guidelines for compensating displaced villagers in Ethiopia and Ghana are not sufficient to restore livelihoods lost due to displacement. [20] The consultations have proven extremely problematic, as they often reach only village chiefs, but neglect ordinary villagers and disenfranchised groups. The Ethiopian government`s acceptance of land acquisition based on cash crops reflects its belief that switching to cash crop production would be even more beneficial to food security than local farmers producing crops themselves. [22] Implicitly characterizing African agriculture as «underdeveloped» is the rejection of traditional harvesting methods of local communities as an inadequate form of food production. Investors can generally be divided into three types: agribusiness, government, and speculative investors. Governments and companies from the Gulf States, as well as companies from East Asia, were very important. Many European and American investment vehicles and agricultural producers have also initiated investments. These actors were motivated by a number of factors, including cheap land, the potential to improve agricultural production, and rising food and biofuel prices. Based on these motivations, investments can be divided into three main categories: food, biofuels and speculative investments. Forestry, like several other processes, contributes to a significant share of large-scale land acquisition: Zoomers[25] mentions factors such as the creation of protected areas and nature reserves, residential migration, large tourist complexes and the creation of special economic zones, especially in Asian countries.

A 2013 report found no available literature with recommendations on how the UK could amend its laws and regulations to require UK companies investing in land in developing countries to report relevant data. [44] «Land grab». Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/land%20grab. Retrieved 14 January 2022. In Argentina, as of September 2011, a bill is being discussed in parliament that would limit the size of land that foreign companies can acquire to 1,000 hectares. [24] Land investors appear to target countries with poor governance to maximize profits and minimize bureaucracy. Oxfam analysis shows that more than three-quarters of the 56 countries where land deals were concluded between 2000 and 2011 scored below four World Bank governance indicators: participation and accountability, regulatory quality, rule of law, and anti-corruption. The weakest trend is the image of Middle Eastern investors or state-backed Chinese investments. Although the UAE has made large deals by size, some of them due to grocery stores, Saudi Arabia being a smaller number, this is not the dominant trend.

Although this aspect of the land trade has attracted a lot of media attention, it is by no means a complete story. [9] They found that a number of reports in land databases are not acquisitions, but long-term leases where fees are paid or a certain portion of the proceeds are destined for domestic markets. For example:[9][page needed] Other estimates of the scale of land acquisition, released by the World Bank in September 2010, showed that between October 2008 and August 2009 alone, more than 460,000 square kilometres (180,000 square miles) or 46,000,000 hectares (110,000,000 acres) were announced through purchases or negotiations of large farmland. two-thirds of the land in demand is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. [17] Of the 464 World Bank acquisitions reviewed, only 203 included land area in their reports, meaning that the actual total area of the 46 million hectares reported by the World Bank could more than double. The most recent estimate of magnitude, based on evidence presented at an international conference of the Land Deal Politics Initiative in April 2011, estimated the area of land deals at more than 80 million hectares. [18] List of land grabbing in hectares of EU countries involved in third countries according to data from the 2016 EU Land Matrix. [55] Despite a history of common use and ownership of more than 50% of the world`s land area, indigenous peoples and local communities – up to 2.5 billion women and men – own only one-fifth of the land they rightfully own. The remaining five billion hectares remain unprotected and vulnerable to land grabbing by more powerful entities such as governments and corporations. There are a number of problems with moving people to other areas where the land is less fertile.

In the resettlement process, historical farming methods, existing social ties, sources of income and livelihoods have often been altered or lost. This has dramatic implications, especially in the case of women who rely heavily on these informal relationships. [36] Foreign investors increase the efficiency of untapped land, labor, and water resources through large-scale agriculture, while providing additional trade links, large-scale infrastructure development, and the provision of seeds, fertilizers, and technology.