Land Grabbing and Potential Implications for World Food Security

Abstract

During 2008, the emergence of “land grabbing” (the purchase or long-term lease of vast tracts of land from mostly poor, developing countries by wealthier, food-insecure nations as well as private entities to produce food for export) has raised deep concern over food security and rural agricultural development. This paper investigates land grabbing within the context of the global food crisis and the ways in which foreign investment in developing country land markets impacts land reform agendas and other policies to promote food security. While many argue that the establishment of a conducive investment environment is necessary to stimulate agricultural production, there is a pressing need to study the implications of increased foreign private control over crucial food-producing lands. By critically analyzing the combination of factors motivating this trend and the potential effects of such investments on agricultural production, this chapter incites important discussion about the role of the private sector in promoting—or hindering—global food security.