International agriculture experts urge code of conduct for 'orderly land grab'

WASHINGTON – Determined to guarantee their food supplies, wealthy food-importing countries are increasing investments in farmland in developing countries like the Philippines, necessitating some form of international code of conduct to ensure an even playing field for all parties involved, agriculture experts said.

In a conference organized here by the Asia Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the experts said that Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, and even Africa, have been heavily targeted as part of this new “land grab.”

The conference’s topic was “ Overseas farmland investments: A boon or a bane for farmers in Asia?”

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in a paper presented at the conference on Tuesday said countries lacking land and water but rich in capital such as the Gulf States were at the forefront of new investments in farmlands abroad.

Countries with large populations and food security concerns such as China, South Korea and India are also seeking opportunities to produce food overseas, according to the IFPRI report written by Joachim von Braun and Ruth Meinzen-Dick.

Although private and public sector investments in agriculture in developing countries should be welcomed in principle, the scale, terms and speed of land acquisitions have provoked opposition in some target countries, IFPRI said. 

Citing news reports, the organization said the Philippines last year blocked a land contract with a Chinese company for over one million acres of agricultural land due to concerns raised about the terms of the deal, the effect on local food security and a potential conflict with the Philippine Constitution. 

In February, a contract was signed between private sectors in Bahrain and the Philippines under which the latter will provide 10,000 hectares of fertile land for a $300-million investment to grow agricultural crops in great demand in Bahrain, IFPRI said.

“Given that the food price crisis has increased competition for land and water resources for agriculture, it is not surprising that farmland prices have risen throughout the world in recent years,” it said.

According to news reports, by far the most aggressive buyer is Saudi Arabia whose investors have acquired land in many countries including Ethiopia and Sudan to grow wheat and barley. The Saudis are reported also to have land in Indonesia and Thailand for growing rice. 

“Soaring wheat and rice prices over the past two years – which have caused riots in more than 30 countries from India to Haiti – were the catalyst for the latest dash for land. But the rush really took off at the end of last year when many big food-exporting nations introduced export controls,” said The Independent, a British newspaper.

Some speakers at the conference said the race by food importing countries to secure farmland overseas to improve their food security risked creating a neo-colonial system.

But David Hallam, deputy director of the trade and markets division at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),cautioned about making over-hasty judgments on such a sensitive issue. 

“This could be a win-win situation or it could be a sort of neo-colonialism with disastrous consequences for some of the countries involved,” he said.

In reply to a query, Hallam said the FAO itself was presently not working on a code of conduct.

Among the speakers at the conference was Raul Montemayor of the Philippine Federation of Free Farmers Cooperatives Inc.

Experts said key elements in a proposed code of conduct for foreign land acquisition should include transparency in negotiations, respect for existing land rights including customary and common property rights, sharing of benefits and environmental sustainability.

When national food security is at risk – for instance in case of an acute drought or flood – domestic supplies should have priority. Foreign investors should not have a right to export during an acute national food crisis, they added.