“Land-grab” deals involving multinationals in developing countries have often been seen as detrimental to food security and the livelihoods of millions of small farmers, but a new study puts such deals into the context of agricultural investments more generally. “Yes, these deals are important, but in most countries domestic investors acquire more land than foreigners,” said Pascal Liu, one of the editors of a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which looks at various forms of foreign investments in agriculture including land deals. Liu says most agriculture-related foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into food processing (such as – fruit juices, sauces and tinned food), distribution and retailing rather than into land acquisition. The FAO researchers, in collaboration with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), examined foreign investments in nine countries (Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia Thailand, Cambodia and Brazil) selected on the basis of the availability of data and the ability of local institutions to provide additional research. FAO estimates that investments of more than US$80 billion a year are needed globally to keep pace with population and income growth, and feed more than nine billion people in 2050. “High food prices in [...]
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