Conclusion

Part 5

Conclusion

Many countries have a limited ability to regulate investments and protect property rights due to overlapping and unclear responsibilities, lack of staff capacity, poor land records, low payments, and limited emphasis on consultation, economic viability and social and environmental criteria. Case studies indicate that negative impacts arise due to these limitations, but they also indicate that positive impacts can be realized in well executed projects, whose benefits are shared with local people via provision of public goods, employment, access to markets and technology, or taxes collected by governments.

The key factor in ensuring the positive long-term outcome of these large-scale investments in agriculture is good governance – regulation that protects the land rights of the locals and that demands sustainable production methods by the investors. Governments should also set up requirements on investors to use a percentage of the profit for re-investment in the region – e.g. in infrastructure or production schemes involving local farmers.

International organizations such as the UN and the World Bank, together with the governments of the target countries, could set up binding regulations for investors, demanding environmental and social impact assessments prior to the deals, adherence to sustainability standards, and minimum requirements for food security in the region. Only then can the challenges to food security posed by land acquisitions be addressed and the opportunities they present for development be realized at the same time.