Land tenure and international investments in agriculture
Toulmin, Camilla et al.
A report by The High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition.
The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) at its meeting of October 2010 requested the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) to conduct a study on land tenure and international investments in agriculture and to present the findings at its next session in October 2011. The study of the HLPE is to undertake analysis and formulate policy recommendations in the following three areas: (i) the respective roles of large-scale plantations and of small-scale farming, including economic, social, gender and environmental impacts; (ii) review of the existing tools allowing the mapping of available land; and (iii) comparative analysis of tools to align large scale investments with country food security strategies. Given the breadth of this topic, the study team chose to focus on large scale investment in land. We recognize that pressures on land stem from both domestic and international investment, and the two are often linked. However, the international dimension is particularly important because of the very unequal access to resources which exists at global level. Land is becoming a global asset to be traded just like any other commodity. Yet land is different, since it provides a livelihood to more than 2 billion smallholders, many of whom are poor and food insecure. Land is also different due to the valuable environmental services it provides, and its strong social, and cultural attributes.
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