Small farmers should get on the “land grab” bandwagon – as land is becoming a hot issue
JOHANNESBURG, 30 June 2010 (IRIN): If you are a small farmer in a developing country, and there is a big agricultural land investment deal going down in your neighbourhood, you could become part of it and make money in several ways, said a new UN-backed study. A growing number of “land grab” deals, especially in Africa, have hit the headlines of late.
The study – “Making the most of agricultural investment: A survey of business models that provide opportunities for smallholders (småbønder)” – examined agricultural investment models that have included small farmers and suggested changes to make sure the poor were not short-changed; more than 70 percent of people living in developing countries are small farmers.
To make these models work you need strong policies in place and vigilant governments to “police” the deals, said Sonja Vermeulen, deputy director of research at the Denmark-based Challenge Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, one of the study’s two authors.
Vermeulen and her co-author, Lorenzo Cotula, a senior researcher at the UK-based International Institute for Environment and Development, started researching the issue after looking at some of the deals for another UN-backed paper in 2009.
– We found that many of the land investment deals were taking place in irrigated and well-serviced areas, for instance in the Office du Niger area on the Niger River in Segou, Southern Mali, which has a high irrigation potential, is well-connected to markets, and is a focus area for large-scale land investment, said Vermeulen.
The researchers found that “as negotiations for large-scale land acquisitions (erhvervelse) evolve at rapid speed, the impression is that some countries are approving plantation-based projects without strong ideas of alternatives.”
The study does not suggest that the only option small farmers have is to partner with big investors, or that large-scale plantations are not the way to go. “In some instances, plantations may be the best option for the investor, host country, and the local community,” said the paper.
“For example, in areas with very low population densities and little local capacity to engage in agricultural production, it may be difficult to establish business models that include local ownership and operation.” the paper noted.
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