In many countries of Africa, Asia and South America, over the past few years there has been a rapid increase in the demand by foreign and domestic investors for land suitable for agriculture. Large-scale investments in land, which are typically in the range of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of hectares,1 are either for agro-fuel production or – more recently – outsourced food production.

This new demand from outsiders is bringing about financial resources, infrastructure and technology, but also increased pressures and competition over land and water in rural areas, where the local population is still growing2 and where the average size of family farms is declining. Such pressures and competition may disproportionately affect poor rural people whose livelihoods depend on agriculture, livestock and forests, eroding their already precarious ability to gain and maintain access to natural resources.

Prepared by: S. Haralambous, H. Liversage and M. Romano