Land grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions; the buying or leasing of large pieces of land in developing countries, by domestic and transnational companies, governments, and individuals. While used broadly throughout history, land grabbing as used today primarily refers to large-scale land acquisitions following the 2007-2008 world food price crisis. By prompting food security fears within the developed world and newfound economic opportunities for agricultural investors and speculators, the food price crisis caused a dramatic spike in large-scale agricultural investments, primarily foreign, in the Global South for the purposes of food and biofuels production. Initially hailed by investors and some developing countries as a new pathway towards agricultural development, investment in land has recently been criticized by a number of civil society, governmental, and multinational actors for the various negative impacts that it has had on local communities.

The target locations of most land grabs are in the Global South, with 70% of land grabs concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa. Other primary areas of note are in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

More About African Land Grab:

Land Grabbing in Africa: a Review of the Impacts and the Possible Policy Responses a research funded by the Pan Africa Programme of Oxfam International, conducted by Tinyade Kachika, Senior researcher.

The research highlights issue such as:

• The Rise of Land Deals in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Land Grabbing and Risk for Small Scale Farmers,
• Land Grabs: Another Yoke over Women’s Land Rights?
• Opportunity for Groups at Risk: The African Union’s Continental Standards on Land Question

Click here to view PDF document for Land Grabbing in Africa: a Review of the Impacts and the Possible Policy Responses

Food Crisis and the Global Land Grab – a website, dedicated mainly to news reports about the global rush to buy up or lease farmlands abroad as a strategy to secure basic food supplies or simply for profit

Farmgrab.org, a website, dedicated mainly to news reports about the global rush to buy up or lease farmlands abroad as a strategy to secure basic food supplies or simply for profit. Its purpose is to serve as a resource for those monitoring or researching the issue, particularly social activists, non-government organisations and journalists.

Click here to go to farmlandgrab.org