Indian Companies Engaged in Agricultural “Land Grabbing” in Africa: The Need for Indo-african Solidarity Linkages

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 72-87
Author(s):  
Rick Rowden
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Small Farmers ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Indian Government ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
High Level ◽  
Lease Contracts

Indian agricultural companies have been involved in the recent trend in large-scale overseas acquisitions of farmland, criticized as “land grabbing”. India has joined China, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and South Korea among other nations heavily investing in large-scale agricultural projects in Africa and elsewhere. Several factors are driving India's effort to “outsource its food production,” including the Government's growing strategic concerns about ensuring long-term food security and concerns about falling ground water tables. Eager developing country governments have also courted Indian agricultural investors, offering special incentives, including offers to lease massive tracts of arable land on very generous terms at much cheaper rates than land and water in India. The Indian Government has supported this trend through high-level trade diplomacy, foreign aid, and subsidized credit for its agricultural companies investing overseas. Critics call the trend “land grabbing” and claim there have been negative impacts on local peoples, who are often displaced in the process. The public disclosure of lease contracts between the Ethiopian Government and five Indian investors sheds light on the negative ethical, political, human rights and environmental consequences for local people in host countries. New and ongoing advocacy strategies are discussed, including the idea to establish international advocacy linkages between Indian activists fighting for small farmers rights and addressing “land grabbing” actions within India, and small farmers in Africa and elsewhere facing similar problems. One idea is for such linkages to inform Indian citizens who can take action to address the problem of land-grabbing by Indian companies operating overseas. International land rights advocates see a common struggle in which land deals must involve transparent and participatory relations between governments, companies and local democratic communities.

scholarly journals What Drives Landowners to Resist Selling Their Land? Insights from Ethical Capitalism and Landowners’ Perceptions

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 312
Author(s):  
Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag ◽  
Hamid Rastegari Kopaei ◽  
Dacinia Crina Petrescu
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Land Conversion ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
Ethical Perspective ◽  
Land Acquisitions ◽  
Large Scale Land ◽  
Land Transactions

Foreign land grabbing is acknowledged as a phenomenon that generates disempowerment and dispossession of local farmers, human rights violations. Previous studies have revealed the lack of ethical benchmarks in foreign large-scale land transactions that raise moral concerns. It is evident that when resources are scarce and people depend on them, the balance between values and interests transforms itself into a dilemma. Within this context, the aims of the paper were to bring to the fore critical reflection on a more ethical perspective of large-scale land acquisitions and to extend the scant information on what factors determine landowners not to sell their land to foreigners to limit land grabbing. This context justifies the need for a critical reflection on a more ethical perspective of large-scale land acquisitions. Therefore, two objectives were set. The first one is to document the role of ethics in large-scale land transactions. Based on the land grabbing literature, authors selected a set of eight land grabbing narratives, most often interrelated and overlapping, that pose ethical considerations. The second objective is to reveal how well a set of variables can predict the “Resistance to sell” the land to foreigners even when an attractive price is offered. As ethics is a social construct, the analysis captured the stakeholders’ perspective on land grabbing. Therefore, a questionnaire was applied to a sample of 332 Romanian landowners from twelve randomly selected counties to reveal their perceptions. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to observe how well a set of seven variables could predict landowners’ “Resistance to sell” their land to foreign buyers. The use of PLS-SEM was justified by the existence of single items and the need to examine many structural model relations. Results showed that the variables with the strongest contribution to the prediction of the dependent variable are the “Probability to join an association for farmers rights defense”, the “Importance of the land price offered by the potential foreign buyer”, and the “Perceived effect of agricultural land conversion to urban land”. Raising awareness on the importance of buyer attributes, increasing people’s perception of the negative effect of agricultural land conversion to urban land, or strengthening the state’s image as a necessary actor to limit land grabbing will increase landowners’ resistance to sell their land to foreigners. Finally, it can be inferred that, within this frame of discussion, ethics should be valued as a means to create economically viable and morally justifiable solutions for foreign large-scale land transactions.

scholarly journals Ecological and economic aspects of rational use and protection of land resources in Ukraine

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (79) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. B. Nahirniak ◽  
R. S. Grabovsky ◽  
M. R. Hrytsyna
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
The State ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Economic Aspects ◽  
Land Protection ◽  
Rational Use ◽  
High Level

The current state of land use in Ukraine is characterized by high agricultural development and land cultivation. The predominant share in the total land stock of Ukraine is occupied by agricultural land (70.8% of the country's territory). Ukraine accounts for about 0.45% of the world land fund, while arable land occupies 2.4% of its world-wide area. According to resource-based indicators of land use Ukraine is also characterized by an extremely high level of development of living space and only about 8% of the territory can be attributed to anthropogenically unchanged. Ecological and economic aspects of land use include of rational land use, which characterizes the optimal involvement of all lands in economic circulation and their effective use for the main purpose, creation of favorable conditions for increasing productivity of agricultural land and obtaining from the unit of area the maximum amount of products at the lowest cost of labor and funds. The article substantiates that degradation of soils has its own characteristics, caused by various factors and processes. It is established that the practice of land use and the state of study of the above problems will require further study of the preconditions for the development of land degradation processes caused by the main factors: human economic activity and climatic and relief-ground conditions. The existing system of land protection in agriculture due to the influence of a number of natural and economic factors, as well as insufficient attention from the state does not ensure their rational use. Therefore, it is necessary to adhere to an integrated system of protection of agricultural land.

scholarly journals Agricultural land losses aper 1990 in the Liberec Region

Geografie ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zbyněk Janoušek
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
The State ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Regional Structure ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Real Estate Register

The use of Czechia’s landscape was repeatedly changed, especially by political factors. After 1989, there were large-scale processes of property return, privatization and transformation of the economy and society. In 2003, before entry into EU, approximately 300,000 hectares of agricultural land were not used economically. This was evidently an impact of a tremendous fragmentation of the holdings in the early 1990s as well as large differences between the structure of owners of land and its real users (tenants). A mere 62% of arable land (and 78% of agricultural land in all), registered in the Cadastre of Real Estate (register of owners) is also included in the Land Parcel Identification System (register of users). This disharmony between the cadastral data and the state in the terrain prompted us to focus our attention on this state. We analyze the driving forces which brought it about as well as the size and regional structure of such differences.

Explaining International Land Transactions in Africa

2013 ◽  
pp. 111-130
Author(s):  
Yohannes G. Hailu ◽  
Adesoji Adelaja ◽  
Henry Akaeze ◽  
Steve Hanson
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
Land Resources ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Land Transactions ◽  
Global Food

Rising global food prices and demand for biofuels have recently heightened global interests in agricultural land resources in Africa, resulting in increased International Land Transactions (ILTs). While opponents of ILTs have dubbed it “land grabbing,” proponents welcome the opening of Africa’s agriculture to foreign direct investment. Limited empirical work exists explaining the motivations of investor and host countries. This chapter attempts to expand the literature by providing an empirical explanation of country land targeting behavior. As the debate on “land grabbing” intensifies, understanding motivations of various actors in the land market becomes relevant.

Harmonizing, merging and publishing hydropedological data for the Czech Republic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luděk Strouhal ◽  
Petr Kavka ◽  
Hana Beitlerová ◽  
Daniel Žížala
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Project Duration ◽  
Erosion Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation Projects

<p>Czech soil data is a mess. Modelling infiltration, or its probably most watched companion - runoff, has been quite a painful process for any researcher or practitioner studying any site larger or more heterogeneous than a few parcels of arable land. There are at least three main national soil databases in the Czech Republic, each of different age, scope, classification system and - most unfortunately - different administrator. So far Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation has taken good care of data for agricultural land, while The Forest Management Institute did his job considering forest soils. A few other research institutes manage their own specific databases. There has been no service available providing consistent data for the whole country, nor methodology giving some guidelines on how to cope with differences in existing datasets, though a few large-scale applications and studies do exist. This contribution presents preliminary results of a running project TJ02000234 - Physical and hydropedological soil properties of the Czech Republic. It aims at harmonizing and combining available datasets and deriving layers of soil texture and hydropedological properties. Next the project aims at gathering available measurements of hydraulic properties of Czech soil types and their partial validation and extending with field measurements in the scope limited by the 2-years of project duration. The derived database and data products will be published in the form of a certified map as well as offered to professionals through an online GIS portal. Design planners in the Land consolidation, flood and soil erosion mitigation projects as well as professionals in public administration and researchers in environmental disciplines will benefit from the publication of this consistent data.</p>

scholarly journals Why organic farming is not the way forward

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Kirchmann
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Mineral Fertilizers ◽  
Yield Gap ◽  
Environmental Consequences

The aim of this article is to provide information about crop production data based on large-scale organic farming and to point toward major consequences. National statistics show lower organic yields than compiled in meta-analyses from farm- and plot-scale. Yields of organically cropped legumes were 20% and nonlegumes 40% lower than those of conventionally grown crops. Area estimates showed that almost two of three crops were legumes or legume mixtures in organic farming, whereas one of three crops was a legume in conventional cropping. Doubling land use for legumes in organic farming affected the type of food produced, being dominated by milk products and red meat. Over all crops, the organic yield gap was 35%. Since yields are lower under organic than conventional practices, more land is required to produce the same amount of agricultural crops. A 35% yield gap means that 50% more arable land is required. A demand for 50% more farmland imposes huge land use changes and makes one realize the wide-ranging environmental consequences that follow when converting to organic farming. In a relevant comparison between organic and conventional cropping systems, environmental consequences caused by land use change such as lost products (timber, fiber, energy, etc.) and lost ecosystem services (sequestered carbon in soil, wildlife, biodiversity, etc.) must be included. The concept of organic farming was founded on philosophical views about nature, not biological science. Natural means and methods were assumed to be superior. Verification of the reasoning and statements of the founders on why to abandon mineral fertilizers cannot be corroborated by science and is incorrect. Scientific evidence for the concept to abandon synthetic mineral fertilizers as nutrients for crops is lacking. The scientific community is obliged to follow rigorous scientific criteria—not biased views, prejudices, or beliefs.

Examining the legal safeguards against the environmental impact of land grabbing in African countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taiwo Ajala
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Foreign Investors ◽  
Large Scale Land ◽  
Agricultural Investments

Large-scale land acquisitions in African countries by foreign investors who use such lands for agricultural purposes that have negative socio-economic and environmental impact in host countries is considered as ‘land grabbing in Africa’. In the context of the environment, the type of crops and monoculture practices undertaken by the foreign investors led to changes in land use, deforestation, exposure of land to soil erosion, depletion of water sources, pollution of surface water and contamination of ground water as a result of the intense use of agro-chemicals. Collectively, these have had a deleterious environmental impact in host countries. This article examines the phenomenon of ‘land grabbing in Africa’ by identifying the type of land-based agricultural investments by foreign entities and the environmental impact of such investments in African countries like Nigeria. The article argues that the prevailing Nigerian environmental law cannot ensure sustainable development as it does not address the environmental impact of land-based agricultural investments by foreign enterprises in the country. The article proposes that suitable environmental laws must contain the concepts of Community Participation in environmental impact assessment process of land based foreign investments and Environmental Justice for victims of environmental degradation of such investments.

scholarly journals Remote monitoring of land in western Kazakhstan

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
Есмагулова ◽  
Bayan Esmagulova ◽  
Кошелева ◽  
Olga Kosheleva ◽  
Мушаева ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Ecological Crisis ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Space Images ◽  
High Resolution Satellite Images ◽  
Sand Control

The article presents the results of the environmental assessment of land in Western Ka-zakhstan, held by decoding high resolution satellite images. The object of investigation is Bokey Orda District of West Kazakhstan region. Decryption is performed by space images QuickBird 2013 1:50 000. Application of space images helped to define the boundaries of the main categories of agricultural land (arable land, grassland, sandy tracts, etc.), set the location of settlements, trans-port infrastructure, as well as to identify the main elements of the hydrographic network (rivers, lakes, estuaries, sors) and mesorelief (sandy hillocks, hill reduction, etc.). It was found that 48.4 % of the Bokey Orda District territory is occupied by agricultural land, 40.7 % - sandy massifs, 10.8 % of the land area are various negative mesorelief – saline depression, estuaries, bitter-salty lakes. The data on land grounds allowed assessing the ecological status of the territory at a rate of anthropo-genic stress that for lands of Bokey Orda District is 3.3 points, which corresponds to the ecological crisis. The current crisis situation is caused by overgrazing and plowing of virgin lands and is cha-racterized by strong decrease in productivity and loss of stability. Selective economic use and plan-ning of deep land improvement is suggeted. An acute need to implement large-scale sand-control works, restoration of degraded pastures and unproductive lands transfer in adaptive forest agricul-tural landscapes is established. The data on volumes of forest reclamation works to secure the shift-ing sands, held in Bokey Orda District in the period from 2011 to 2013, are presented. It is recom-mended to organize of environmental monitoring using remote sensing data, which will allow timely identification of areas, subjected to degradation processes, and to take appropriate measures to eliminate pockets of desertification in the initial stage.

scholarly journals Structure Changing in Maize-Based Agriculture Production in Vietnam: Case Study in Son La Province

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-76
Author(s):  
Dang Thi Thanh Thuy ◽  
Nguyen Van Hieu
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Sharp Decrease ◽  
Fruit Trees ◽  
Maize Production

Maize is the primary food resource for livestock, mainly cultivated in the northern mountains, the central provinces, and the central highlands in Vietnam. By studying reliable reports and policies related to maize-based agricultural production in combination with interviews and focus group discussion methods conducted in Son La province, this study specifically analyzes the situation of maize production in Vietnam and impacts of policies for the specific case in Son La province. The research results show that, though the sharp decrease, maize has still been the main crop with an annual cultivation area of ​​over 30% of the country's agricultural land recently. However, maize is only modestly mentioned in some central policies, and no policy at the local level is reserved for maize production. In addition, maize is no longer a crop to attract local farmers’ and authority’ interest, especially since 2015, the transition in maize cultivation area on sloping land to arable land of fruit trees and many other crops has been carried out on a large scale due to some policies by the province, resulting in a sharp decrease in maize cultivated area and production. This might lead to limited results of substantial government policies on maize acreage expansion, maize cultivated area planning, or maize development strategy. Accordingly, some recommendations to improve the situation are provided.

Agriculture Development of the Nitra Region in the Context of Slovakia after year 2004

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Némethová ◽  
Melánia Feszterová,
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Total Employment ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
High Level ◽  
Agriculture Development

The agriculture in Slovakia has undergone structural changes since its accession to the European Union (EU) in 2004, that have been linked to the adoption of the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU Member States. The article focuses on the Nitra region as a typical agricultural region of Slovakia and its development from the agricultural point of view from 2004. Compared to other Slovak regions the Nitra region has good soil climatic ratios, for the development of agriculture. The Nitra region has the largest share of agricultural land which is characterized by a high-level share of arable land from total agricultural land. The region has the highest values in gross agricultural production from the 2004-2016 reporting period. It has good results in plant and livestock production. The region has the highest employment in agriculture. Despite the decline in agricultural land, as well as a decline in total employment in agriculture, the region has the highest employment in agriculture in Slovakia. It is characterized by a well-developed business structure for intensive agricultural production.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document