Responsible agricultural investment: Drawing upon best practices in existing initiatives

Abstract

Since the mid-2000s, private sector investment in agriculture — both domestic and foreign — has been on the increase. Studies on this trend find mixed results, both positive and negative consequences for local communities, depending on conditions and circumstances. In response, there has been a multiplication of principles, guidelines or benchmarks for investors and host governments which aim to mitigate the negative impacts of large-scale agricultural investments, while maximizing positive outcomes. This paper contributes to the ongoing discussions on principles for responsible agricultural investments (RAI) by assessing how RAI principles can draw upon best practices from existing initiatives. To facilitate the discussion, we first propose a typology for categorizing initiates to regulate investment in agriculture. Then we assess the best practices in ten key areas that RAI principles should consider.