There’s a whole school of economic thought that says that Collier is wrong, that big is not necessarily better in agriculture — and that the land deals therefore might be unwise not because they’re wrong but because they’re unprofitable.
An Abu Dhabi-based private sector investment firm has signed a contract to lease up to 700,000 hectares of farmland in Morocco, a company executive said yesterday.
Farmers from South Korea, Kuwait and the United States have also arrived in Kwara state, some 400 km northwest of Lagos, which is keen to attract more investors and help Nigeria end its import reliance.
Investment in agriculture is soaring. So, worryingly, is distrust of markets and trade.
Segundo as ONGs "Grain" e La Via Campesina, "alguns governos, como o da Arábia Saudita e Coreia do Sul pressionam essa forma de agir, como estratégia comercial.
Unos 400 delegados provenientes de 70 países de América Latina y África, que participan en la cumbre paralela organizada frente a la FAO y autorizada por la entidad de Naciones Unidas, protestan desde el lunes en denuncia por "la compra masiva de tierras" por parte de grandes firmas agro-alimentarias con la complicidad de la FAO.
International farmland-investment standards of the kind being worked upon are much needed. But agricultural agencies such as the FAO are not equipped to establish good property-rights regimes in the developing world, writes the Globe and Mail
More and more of Africa's farmland is being bought up by private companies and countries. But should this trend be welcomed as much-needed foreign investment or is it a new form of colonialism? Join the Riz Khan show on Al Jazeera Thursday 19 November 2009.
The 450 civil society organisations taking part in a parallel forum were not won over by FAO's optimism about a code of conduct. "Land grabbing by external capital must stop," read a declaration by participants at the forum.
Varias ONG acusaron a las multinacionales del sector alimentario de intentar hacerse con millones de hectáreas de tierras de buena calidad pertenecientes a pequeños campesinos del Tercer Mundo, durante la cumbre de la FAO sobre la seguridad alimentaria que se celebra en Roma.
El Foro Alternativo a la FAO clama contra los países ricos que acaparan las tierras de las naciones en vías de desarrollo
"Personnellement je ne vois pas ce que les petits producteurs peuvent gagner avec des investissements privés étrangers de masse." Un entretien avec Moussa Djiré.
The French farming minister warned these "predatory investments" prevented countries from feeding themselves. Al Jazeera reports.
Across the street from the conference, human rights and farmers' groups protested sporadically throughout the three days. Small farmers' groups put on street theatre, re-enacting scenes of land-grabbing by foreign companies, with thugs bearing sticks pretending to threaten the small land owners.
The UN and the World Bank are walking a tightrope in drawing up a code of conduct for farmland deals as they do not want to undermine investor confidence. Campaigners call such "win-win" codes "a nonsense".
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