Abstract
Since the 2007-2008 global food crisis there is growing interest in changing patterns of farmland ownership. Utilizing a dataset of the names of all farmland titleholders along with GIS data mapping software, this article demonstrates changes in patterns of land ownership in three rural municipalities (RMs) in Saskatchewan, Canada. A diverse mix of new actors have entered the farmland market in the past decade or two, with some now owning more than 100,000 acres each in the province. Our research reveals a list of the investment companies, pension plans, and large farmer/investor hybrids buying land and also maps investment activity and large land transactions in the three RMs. While 7.8% to 13.1% of the farmland is now owned by “land grabbers”, our study also found a significant rise in land concentration in the hands of farmers when compared to 20 years ago. For example, in one RM the four largest landowners—a mix of farmers and investment companies and farmer/investor hybrids—now own 28% of the land. We then discuss some initial findings concerning the impact changing patterns of land ownership is having on the cohesion and vitality of communities and conclude with a series of questions for further research.
Highlights
In recent years, there has been growing academic, civil-society, and public interest in changing patterns of farmland ownership in agricultural sectors around the world
Referred to by critics as the global “land grab” (GRAIN, 2008), these transactions raise many questions about the changing dynamics of farmland ownership and control including: the power dynamics between farmland owners and tenants/workers; the motives and decisionmaking horizons of investors compared to family-farm landowners; environmental questions related to land use, soil, water, and biodiversity; and the implications for rural communities, control over food production, food security, and food sovereignty
In all three rural municipalities (RMs), there has been a sharp increase in the amount of land owned by investment funds, pension plans, other highly capitalized entities, and farmer/investor hybrids (Table 2), and there has been a sharp increase in concentration of ownership (Table 3)
Summary
There has been growing academic, civil-society, and public interest in changing patterns of farmland ownership in agricultural sectors around the world These changes are part and parcel of the ongoing restructuring of the global food system under the corporate food regime (McMichael, 2012). The dominant trends in the corporate food regime are the increasing concentration of power and resources in the hands of agribusiness firms and financial interests, the marginalization of small farmers, and global market volatility. It is in this context that a range of important transformations has occurred in patterns of farmland ownership. Referred to by critics as the global “land grab” (GRAIN, 2008), these transactions raise many questions about the changing dynamics of farmland ownership and control including: the power dynamics between farmland owners and tenants/workers; the motives and decisionmaking horizons of investors compared to family-farm landowners; environmental questions related to land use, soil, water, and biodiversity; and the implications for rural communities, control over food production, food security, and food sovereignty
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