"Land acquisitions – land grabbed?"

Foreign direct investment in land, also known as “land grabbing”, has become an explosive topic, especially in poor developing countries. In its first 2010 issue, Rural 21 gives insights into current trends in FDI, the political dimensions, the dangers that land grabbing by foreign investors hold for local food security, but also the opportunities it can bring for rural populations. Reports from countries in Africa and Asia illuminate the paths FDI is taking and the impacts it has, including on land law.

• The rush for farmland
• A threat to global food security
• ‘Land grabs’ in Africa: Pathways, trends and the role of legal contracts
• Big push for development or erosion of local livelihood?
• New challenges for ACP countries?

• An opportunity for sustainable growth in Africa
• Indigenous people are losing their livelihood

• Rethinking rural and agricultural finance – The African case
• Regional rural development needs people empowerment
• Cheese versus poverty