GCC States' Land Investments Abroad: The Case of Cambodia

Abstract

Foreign land acquisition offers the possibility of securing reliable long-term food supplies, but has been criticized as risking exploitation of communities in host countries. This Summary Report examines Cambodia as a case study of Gulf-state land investments in developing country agriculture to develop a long-term prognosis for this going abroad strategy. Despite the critical regional interest in food security and food sovereignty, there is a dearth of available information on the subject as it relates to the Middle East. It is widely acknowledged that there exists a lack of available data on the subject on which to base sound analysis. This scarcity of data and non-reliability of data means that academic work on the subject of food security in this region remains limited to non-existent. A scholarly approach to this issue is both valuable and timely. With that as its goal, CIRS launched a research initiative on “Food Security and Food Sovereignty in the Middle East” and held working group meetings to discuss the topic.