Rush for land a wake-up call for poorer countries, report says
Thanks to Al Bartlett for this article. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/dec/14/rush-for-land-gobal-south
Rush for land a wake-up call for poorer countries, report says
Increasing investor demand for land in the global south could spur small farmers to secure control over their land, says a study published by the International Land Coalition
Claire Provost
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 14 December 2011 08.55 EST
Population growth, the increasing consumption of a global elite, and an international legal system skewed in favour of largescale investors are fuelling a worldwide rush for land that is unfolding faster than previously thought and is likely to continue, according to the largest study of international land deals to date.
Researchers estimate that more than 200m hectares of land – over eight times the size of the UK – have been sold or leased between 2000 and 2010. But although the food price crisis of 2007-08 may have triggered a boom in international land deals, the study argues that a much broader set of factors – linked to population growth and the rise of emerging economies – is raising the prospect of “a new era in the struggle for, and control over, land in many areas of the global south”.
To read the full article, please click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/dec/14/rush-for-land-gobal-south
