World Food Day - Land Grabs

WORLD FOOD DAY 2013: LAND RIGHTS, LAND GRABS, AND BEHIND THE BRANDS

Brett Smith, Oxfam Action Corps - MN, Volunteer

What is World Food Day?

 World Food Day celebrates the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). On October 16, 1945, the nations of the world determined that “the goal of freedom from want of food, suitable and adequate for the health and strength of all people can be achieved.” We still seek that goal and, although some progress has been made, far too many people in the world remain hungry and many (up to 80 percent) of the chronically hungry are farmers.

This year, Oxfam is using the occasion of World Food Day to begin a new campaign to fight hunger and injustice through an attack on “land grabs.”

 

 

 What are “Land Grabs”?

Hunger remains a problem, in part, because small farmers around the world, who grow food to feed themselves and their communities, are being pushed off the land by large agribusiness projects focused on selling to the global market. Often these projects take over land without including proper protections for the farmers already farming this land. The key principle of “free informed prior consent (FPIC)” is not observed and property rights, particularly for communities, indigenous peoples, and women are often not recognized or enforced. When people already occupying and using the land are removed without their consent, that is a “land grab.”

While the history of land grabs goes well back into colonial times, the recent surge and instability in food prices, especially the spike in prices in 2008, has accelerated demand for land as richer countries seek food security and investors seek profits. This price increase, along with population growth, rising middle class food demands, and climate instability has put increasing pressure on small farmers around the world. In the past decade an area of land eight times the size of the UK has been sold off globally as land sales have rapidly accelerated. This land could feed a billion people. Many of the foreign purchases, perhaps 60 percent, are occurring in countries with significant hunger problems. Too often the land is taken out of production for local needs and used for growing international commodities or simply held unused as an investment asset.

 Land grabs should not be confused with positive investments in small scale local food production. Well targeted investment, regardless of the source, can produce, for example, greater productivity, entrance into new markets, access to knowledge and market information, and lower borrowing costs. Investments in support services, such as finance, trading, technical support, transport and storage, infrastructure can be critical in helping local producers increase their productivity and incomes. This kind of investment, in contrast to land grabs, should be encouraged.

For a close look at the complex issues surrounding land grabs and agricultural development, watch the movie “Land Rush” either at the upcoming World Food Day Event (Oct. 16, 2013) or on YouTube. This excellent film examines in depth a case study of a land acquisition project in Mali and is well worth watching.

How Do Land Grabs Fit Into Oxfam’s “Behind the Brands” Campaign?

As we know from the past successes of Oxfam’s “Behind the Brands” campaign, we have significant power if we join together in the marketplace as consumers. So this month Oxfam is kicking off a new campaign to combat land grabs through the power of consumer voices and actions.

A significant portion these land grabs stems from the global demand for three basic commodities: palm oil, soy for both food and fuel, and sugar. While soy has the largest land footprint, and palm oil accounts for the largest number of land deals, sugar is the focus of this Oxfam campaign because it has the second largest footprint in land acquisition and because over 60 per cent of the sugar grown is directly used in food and beverages. This makes it a good target for consumer based pressure. Three companies account for a significant portion of this sugar production: Coca-Cola is the world’s largest sugar purchaser, while PepsiCo and Associated British Foods (ABF), home of Ovaltine and Twinings among other brands, follow close behind, with ABF being especially significant in Africa. This campaign will focus especially on these three companies.

Respect for the land rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples was one of the important criteria which Oxfam used to assess corporate impacts in its “Behind the Brands” campaign. All three of the targeted companies scored very badly on this criterion. Their policies are very weak on land protection and their supply chains are essentially hidden from view so it is impossible to know whether the sugar purchases they make have come from land grab type acquisitions.

What is Oxfam Asking?

The ask can be summed up as KNOW, SHOW, AND ACT. Companies must KNOW how the sugar they produce or source through suppliers impacts communities’ and small farmers access to land and land rights; they must SHOW in a transparent way where the sugar they grow or purchase comes from and who grows it; and they must ACT by committing to zero tolerance for land grabs.

What You Can Do

1. Attend the Oxfam World Food Day Celebration to learn more about the issue by watching and discussing the film “Land Rush” with other Oxfam folks.

https://worldfoodday-oxfamactioncorpsmn.eventbrite.com/

 

2. Sign the Oxfam petition regarding land grabs either at the World Food Day event or online at behindthebrands.org.

3. Share your actions on social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

4. Learn more by going to oxfamamerica.org