Commercial pressures on land

Global economic and policy trends have emerged that boost the commercial value of land and investors' interest in land worldwide. Long-term increases in food consumption (and thus demand and prices), and increasing consumption of agrofuels are creating new demands for large tracts of agricultural land. Coinciding with the liberalisation of trade, competition for land is more and more played out directly between local land users, national economic elites, and transnational investors.

Despite the magnitude of this phenomenon, most evidence is currently indicative or anecdotal. There is as yet very little systematic monitoring of these trends, research into the impacts, or exploration of the opportunities that may be created for rural development. These trends pose both a threat and an opportunity to the rural poor, of whom many have weak and unrecognised land tenure rights. On the other hand, where poor people have secure land use rights, these same trends may actually offer opportunities for development.

Through this DPRN process the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) of the University of Groningen, the International Land Coalition (ILC), and Oxfam Novib address the above named threats and opportunities. By facilitating the communication, exchange and debate on the analysis of land rights problems, approaches and policies, it is aimed to provide an evidence base for influencing global, regional and national policy processes on rural land.