East Africa
'Land Grabbing' Creates Tensions As Countries
Combat Local And Global Food Insecurity
23 December 2009 | by Allyn Gaested
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once able to sustain its population of 30 million with local agriculture,
Saudi Arabia now anticipates importing all of its wheat by 2016,
according to Reuters. Saudi Arabia's aquifers are drying up as a result
of climate change, which has led to a massive decline in local wheat
harvests.
Arabia.
To be considered for Saudi investment, countries must be politically
stable, have useful natural resources for agriculture, tax relaxation on
agricultural exports, anti-corruption laws, and low-cost labor.
Contracts must be long-term, and Saudi Arabia must have the decision-
making power on what crops are produced.
The Initiative investigated potential partner countries and found Ethiopia
to be a viable candidate. The first Ethiopian harvest arrived in Saudi
Arabia this year.
The relationship between investors and host countries can be
problematic depending on the food situation in the host countries.
Ethiopia, for example, has faced long-term food insecurity. Currently
6.2 million Ethiopians are threatened by malnutrition and hunger,
according to the World Food Programme.
Olivier De Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to
food, spoke earlier this year on the emerging land acquisition trend.
"Investment contracts should prioritize the development needs of the
local population," he said. De Schutter sees a potential for a mutually
beneficial relationship between investing nations and their host countries
only if a set of principles guiding such relationships is put in place.
"Arrangements under which the foreign investor provides access to
credit and to improved technologies for contract farming, or obtains the
possibility to buy at predefined prices a portion of the crops, produced
may be preferable to long-term leases of land or land purchases."
Currently there is little international monitoring of programs like the
King Abdullah Initiative for Saudi Agricultural Investment Abroad.
De Schutter further explained the complexity of the situation and the
likely possibility of exploitation to MediaGlobal. "The countries targeted
by such large-scale land investment are caught in a scissor. It requires
very fine tuning and good management to reap benefits for the local
population in general," he said.
The most likely outcome of such agreements will be a loss of essential
farmland without benefit to the local population. Even if the investors
agree to put a portion of their harvest to market in their host countries--
hypothetically contributing to food security for host counties--such
contributions could disrupt local markets and undermine local farmers'
businesses by flooding the market with cheaper goods produced by
agribusiness instead of small-scale farms.
Yet De Schutter recognizes the advantages the program provides to
Saudi Arabia. "Such large-scale land acquisitions are certainly a way to
shield Saudi Arabia from the risks associated for net food importing
countries with increasingly volatile and unreliable international markets
for agricultural commodities," he told MediaGlobal.
Devlin Kuyek is a researcher for GRAIN, an international agricultural
advocacy group. GRAIN finds the entire concept of large-scale
international agribusiness to be problematic.
Instead GRAIN emphasizes the environmental and social benefits of
small-scale farming. Kuyek told MediaGlobal, "Countries that need to
import food can buy from farmers in other countries at fair prices and
do not need to deal with multinational agribusiness or engage in foreign
farmland grabs. Farmer's organizations in Africa have been demanding
fair and better access to markets for decades."
Global food security presents complex problems for countries aiming to
shield their populations from hunger. Saudi Arabia's investment abroad
is its answer to diminishing local crop yield. But Ethiopia's domestic
need for sufficient food supplies makes for a delicate balance between
cooperation and exploitation.
'Land Grabbing' Creates Tensions As Countries
Combat Local And Global Food Insecurity
23 December 2009 | by Allyn Gaested
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once able to sustain its population of 30 million with local agriculture,
Saudi Arabia now anticipates importing all of its wheat by 2016,
according to Reuters. Saudi Arabia's aquifers are drying up as a result
of climate change, which has led to a massive decline in local wheat
harvests.
- In order to guarantee
food security for the
population, Saudi
Arabia's government
has turned to land
acquisition, commonly
referred to as "land
grabbing" in East
Africa. The King
Abdullah Initiative for
Saudi Agricultural
Investment Abroad is
a government program
that provides financing
Arabia.
To be considered for Saudi investment, countries must be politically
stable, have useful natural resources for agriculture, tax relaxation on
agricultural exports, anti-corruption laws, and low-cost labor.
Contracts must be long-term, and Saudi Arabia must have the decision-
making power on what crops are produced.
The Initiative investigated potential partner countries and found Ethiopia
to be a viable candidate. The first Ethiopian harvest arrived in Saudi
Arabia this year.
The relationship between investors and host countries can be
problematic depending on the food situation in the host countries.
Ethiopia, for example, has faced long-term food insecurity. Currently
6.2 million Ethiopians are threatened by malnutrition and hunger,
according to the World Food Programme.
Olivier De Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to
food, spoke earlier this year on the emerging land acquisition trend.
"Investment contracts should prioritize the development needs of the
local population," he said. De Schutter sees a potential for a mutually
beneficial relationship between investing nations and their host countries
only if a set of principles guiding such relationships is put in place.
"Arrangements under which the foreign investor provides access to
credit and to improved technologies for contract farming, or obtains the
possibility to buy at predefined prices a portion of the crops, produced
may be preferable to long-term leases of land or land purchases."
Currently there is little international monitoring of programs like the
King Abdullah Initiative for Saudi Agricultural Investment Abroad.
De Schutter further explained the complexity of the situation and the
likely possibility of exploitation to MediaGlobal. "The countries targeted
by such large-scale land investment are caught in a scissor. It requires
very fine tuning and good management to reap benefits for the local
population in general," he said.
The most likely outcome of such agreements will be a loss of essential
farmland without benefit to the local population. Even if the investors
agree to put a portion of their harvest to market in their host countries--
hypothetically contributing to food security for host counties--such
contributions could disrupt local markets and undermine local farmers'
businesses by flooding the market with cheaper goods produced by
agribusiness instead of small-scale farms.
Yet De Schutter recognizes the advantages the program provides to
Saudi Arabia. "Such large-scale land acquisitions are certainly a way to
shield Saudi Arabia from the risks associated for net food importing
countries with increasingly volatile and unreliable international markets
for agricultural commodities," he told MediaGlobal.
Devlin Kuyek is a researcher for GRAIN, an international agricultural
advocacy group. GRAIN finds the entire concept of large-scale
international agribusiness to be problematic.
Instead GRAIN emphasizes the environmental and social benefits of
small-scale farming. Kuyek told MediaGlobal, "Countries that need to
import food can buy from farmers in other countries at fair prices and
do not need to deal with multinational agribusiness or engage in foreign
farmland grabs. Farmer's organizations in Africa have been demanding
fair and better access to markets for decades."
Global food security presents complex problems for countries aiming to
shield their populations from hunger. Saudi Arabia's investment abroad
is its answer to diminishing local crop yield. But Ethiopia's domestic
need for sufficient food supplies makes for a delicate balance between
cooperation and exploitation.
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