The Farms Race: Foreign Land Acquisitions in Africa

An All Party Parliamentary (APPG) for Agriculture and Food for Development open discussion event, 27 January 2010.

Speakers:

• His Excellency Antonio Gumede, Mozambique High Commissioner
• Richard Morgan, CEO Sun Biofuels
• Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
• Prof. Tim Lang, University of London
• Lorenzo Cotula, Research Fellow at the International Institute for Environment and Development.

RSVP to James Birch

Background

Since 2006, up to 20m hectares of farmland worth in developing countries has been subject to international negotiations. At the same time, between 2007 and 2008 over 33 countries suffered food riots, 45 countries were subject to violent protests over land rights and the President of Madagascar was overthrown as a result of a 99-year lease which was under negotiation with Daewoo.

Yet such deals, when governed correctly, could be a valuable source of income and food for developing countries. 

There is a potential to deliver desperately needed foreign exchange, technology transfer, infrastructure build and innovative approaches to agriculture which could increase productivity and food supplies whilst at the same time creating job opportunities locally.