Grabbing farm lands
Source: By Devinder Sharma: Deccan Herald
More than 60 per cent of the acquisitions are happening in countries faced with problems of hunger and malnutrition. During his recent visit to China, prime minister Manmohan Singh invited China to set up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industrial parks in India. He is expecting Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to boost manufacturing output, already sluggish because of surging cheaper imports from China.
Some years back, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia had in a visit to Oman, invited Omani firms to farm in India for producing crops that can be exported. At a time when food prices have hit the roof, and any measure to limit domestic production should raise concerns, Ahluwalia is seemingly not concerned.
Well, here is another shocker. Foreign companies from UK, US, Austria and Thailand have concluded 36 deals to buy agricultural land in India in the States of Gujarat, Orissa, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Seven of these deals have already been completed allowing 13,105 hectares to be acquired. This is based on an excellent detailed insight provided on the web site called Land Matrix.
India’s shrinking agricultural land is up for grabs. So far you had read that Indian companies were buying land in Africa, Asia and South America. Of the 848 land grab deals concluded globally since 2008, about 80 involve Indian companies that have invested in 65 deals to grow foodgrains, sugarcane, oilseeds, tea and flowers. And as a news report computed, Indian companies have already bought land abroad nine times the size of Delhi. Isn’t it interesting? While Indian companies are buying land abroad, foreign companies are buying land in India.
Every second an area equivalent to that of a football ground (0.72 hectares) is being acquired in the developing countries. Among those who are investing in such land deals are not only MNCs, big business, hedge funds, venture capitalists, but even universities. More than 60 per cent of the acquisitions are happening in countries that are faced with a serious problem in hunger and malnutrition, and that includes India.
At this rate the day is not far off when increasingly more and more people will become landless in their own country. The US National Academy of Science calls it “a new form of colonialism” while mainline economists term it as a model of economic growth. However, the fact remains that land grab has become a major investment activity over the past few years. To me this is simply frightening. It has grave human rights implications, and would impact global food security to say the least.
Trade negotiations
Imagine wherever you are living you being in close vicinity of fenced land purchased by foreign companies. Imagine the flag of the country from which the company hails from is fluttering in your neighbourhood. Maybe more than one flag. But don’t laugh it off. It’s actually being worked out. Under the ongoing Trans-Atlantic trade negotiations between America and European Union, America is demanding that its corporations be given the status of a nation state.
As said earlier, the land sharks are now eyeing India. The country seems to be up for grabs. No wonder, soon after passing the new land acquisition law that makes it easier for companies to acquire land, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh had said: ‘We will not need land acquisition law after 20 years.’ So true, isn't it? After all, there would be hardly any land left to be acquired by then.
While the United Nations or the World Bank is mute to the increasing grab of farm lands, and have only proposed a code of conduct to be followed by the land sharks, the only word of caution has actually come from the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabio, who in 2011 said: “Farmers’ land property rights can no longer be sacrificed to reduce the cost of urbanization and industrialization, given the country’s much higher level of economic development.” He went on to say that farmer enjoy legal rights of land contracts, land use and collective income distribution as basic protection, no matter if they have moved into the cities or stayed in the countryside, and no one has the powers to deprive villagers of these rights.
This belated wisdom is dawning on the Chinese leadership after it has been witness to a thousand mutinies over the past few years. As per an assessment China was witnessing on average over 250 protests a day, most of them bloody, over land acquisitions in the recent past. Ironically, while within the country, China is faced with violent riots, it happens to be one of the biggest land grabbers globally. It has already bought more than 9 million acres abroad. In fact, China is also sending its own farm workforce to work in these countries, which means the local population in those countries is not even benefitting from the work opportunities created.
Farm land grab is not only a socio-economic issue but has laid out contours of a political backlash, sooner or later. It is high time the international community woke up the simmering anger and disgust in the rural areas across the developing world. The resulting upheavals may rock the boat of economic growth. It requires urgent attention.
More than 60 per cent of the acquisitions are happening in countries faced with problems of hunger and malnutrition. During his recent visit to China, prime minister Manmohan Singh invited China to set up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industrial parks in India. He is expecting Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to boost manufacturing output, already sluggish because of surging cheaper imports from China.
Some years back, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia had in a visit to Oman, invited Omani firms to farm in India for producing crops that can be exported. At a time when food prices have hit the roof, and any measure to limit domestic production should raise concerns, Ahluwalia is seemingly not concerned.
Well, here is another shocker. Foreign companies from UK, US, Austria and Thailand have concluded 36 deals to buy agricultural land in India in the States of Gujarat, Orissa, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Seven of these deals have already been completed allowing 13,105 hectares to be acquired. This is based on an excellent detailed insight provided on the web site called Land Matrix.
India’s shrinking agricultural land is up for grabs. So far you had read that Indian companies were buying land in Africa, Asia and South America. Of the 848 land grab deals concluded globally since 2008, about 80 involve Indian companies that have invested in 65 deals to grow foodgrains, sugarcane, oilseeds, tea and flowers. And as a news report computed, Indian companies have already bought land abroad nine times the size of Delhi. Isn’t it interesting? While Indian companies are buying land abroad, foreign companies are buying land in India.
Every second an area equivalent to that of a football ground (0.72 hectares) is being acquired in the developing countries. Among those who are investing in such land deals are not only MNCs, big business, hedge funds, venture capitalists, but even universities. More than 60 per cent of the acquisitions are happening in countries that are faced with a serious problem in hunger and malnutrition, and that includes India.
At this rate the day is not far off when increasingly more and more people will become landless in their own country. The US National Academy of Science calls it “a new form of colonialism” while mainline economists term it as a model of economic growth. However, the fact remains that land grab has become a major investment activity over the past few years. To me this is simply frightening. It has grave human rights implications, and would impact global food security to say the least.
Trade negotiations
Imagine wherever you are living you being in close vicinity of fenced land purchased by foreign companies. Imagine the flag of the country from which the company hails from is fluttering in your neighbourhood. Maybe more than one flag. But don’t laugh it off. It’s actually being worked out. Under the ongoing Trans-Atlantic trade negotiations between America and European Union, America is demanding that its corporations be given the status of a nation state.
As said earlier, the land sharks are now eyeing India. The country seems to be up for grabs. No wonder, soon after passing the new land acquisition law that makes it easier for companies to acquire land, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh had said: ‘We will not need land acquisition law after 20 years.’ So true, isn't it? After all, there would be hardly any land left to be acquired by then.
While the United Nations or the World Bank is mute to the increasing grab of farm lands, and have only proposed a code of conduct to be followed by the land sharks, the only word of caution has actually come from the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabio, who in 2011 said: “Farmers’ land property rights can no longer be sacrificed to reduce the cost of urbanization and industrialization, given the country’s much higher level of economic development.” He went on to say that farmer enjoy legal rights of land contracts, land use and collective income distribution as basic protection, no matter if they have moved into the cities or stayed in the countryside, and no one has the powers to deprive villagers of these rights.
This belated wisdom is dawning on the Chinese leadership after it has been witness to a thousand mutinies over the past few years. As per an assessment China was witnessing on average over 250 protests a day, most of them bloody, over land acquisitions in the recent past. Ironically, while within the country, China is faced with violent riots, it happens to be one of the biggest land grabbers globally. It has already bought more than 9 million acres abroad. In fact, China is also sending its own farm workforce to work in these countries, which means the local population in those countries is not even benefitting from the work opportunities created.
Farm land grab is not only a socio-economic issue but has laid out contours of a political backlash, sooner or later. It is high time the international community woke up the simmering anger and disgust in the rural areas across the developing world. The resulting upheavals may rock the boat of economic growth. It requires urgent attention.
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