75% of Mali's population are farmers, but rich, land-hungry nations like China and Saudi Arabia are leasing Mali's land in order to turn large areas into agribusiness farms. Many Malian peasants do not welcome these efforts, seeing them as yet another manifestation of imperialism. As Mali experiences a military coup, the developers are scared off - but can Mali's farmers combat food shortages and escape poverty on their own terms? Watch the trailer on Youtube: http://youtu.be/Szx0cvJBemk

GAI Europe 2012 (London, 3-5 Dec) will build off of the recent success of our flagship event, in New York, which in April 2012 attracted over 700 attendees who represented over:
- $3.5 trillion in aggregated institutional assets managed by attending institutional investors
- 25 million acres under cultivation by attending companies
- $12.5 billion of farmland assets managed by attending fund managers
GAI Europe 2012 will help end investors understand different strategies and different risk/reward exposures that are being pursued by fund managers within the ag space. They will hear from fund managers about the challenges and opportunities presented by different geographies and operating strategies across illiquid investment vehicles (farmland, infrastructure and ag private equity), as well as liquid investment alternatives such as agricultural-focused hedge funds, public equities and commodities.

"The German Federal Ministry for Development and Cooperation has formulated six principles that investments in land should adhere to with the goal for them to be structured in such a way as to promise sustained benefits for the development of the populations affected. 75% of the poor are living in rural areas and are relying on agriculture for their survival. At the same time many countries with poor smallholder agriculture systems have areas of suitable agriculture land and/or land which produce below its potential. Investments could result in an increased production of food and a transfer of know-how of sustainable and more productive agriculture systems.

Financing institutions have started to revise their investment policies, a few agro-business investment groups have started to develop specific strategies into sustainable use of land which aim to be beneficial for local communities too. Large food corporations and agricultural commodity traders have started to invest into more sustainable production of coffee, cocoa, cotton, soy, timber and many other commodities. They have to secure their raw material sources and understand more and more that benefit sharing along the supply chain is a must to stay in business.

How can “land grabbing” be avoided and responsible investments be further encouraged? Which are “good practices” of responsible investments into agricultural land (and other resources)? Which governmental guidelines exist? Neither governmental organizations nor the private sector can manage this situation alone.How can they work hand in hand for a broader impact?"

1st Annual Africa Food Security Conference - AFSC 2012 is a regionally focused forum that aims to bring the interrelated parties together for discussions that will refocus food security issues in Africa in alignment with the continent’s requirement. The forum aims to generate discussions on how consistent and accurate investment in agriculture, rural development, development aid, research and innovation can be increased because for most countries in Africa a healthy agricultural sector is essential to overcome hunger and poverty and is a pre-requisite for overall economic growth. Food security solutions in Africa should become visionary, long-term and sustainable.

Oxfam UK, in association with the EIRIS Foundation, is organising an informal discussion forum for investors on responsible investment in agribusiness. The session, titled ‘Land, Food and Agriculture: challenges and opportunities for responsible investors in agribusiness’, includes a working lunch. If you are an investor, do you know if you are exposed to risks relating to agricultural land – either in equities, real assets or funds of funds? Are you considering increasing your asset allocations in emerging markets and agriculture? This discussion forum offers a relaxed environment for investor analysts to freely discuss with a handful of NGOs that are leading on this issue, what a responsible investment approach to their investments in land might look like. Session topics include: essentials – overview of land issues in agriculture investment, their importance for sustainable development, and relevance to the responsible investment community exploration of the principles and standards – what works for communities and investors? what are the key risk factors and indicators? How can responsible investors identify and mitigate these when considering investments linked to agricultural land? investor action at the company or fund level – how could investors apply the principles and standards? investor action at the country level – could investors encourage better land governance at the country level? If you are an asset manager or asset owner and interested in attending this free event, please email [email protected] to express interest and to request more information.

Carte blanche à l’Association Intelligence Verte de Philippe Desbrosses, organisateur des Entretiens de Sologne
Dimanche 21 octobre 2012 de 11 h 30 à 13 h 00 : De l’expropriation à l’accaparement des terres – l’ histoire des famines…
Edgar MORIN, philosophe et sociologue ; Alfredo PENA VEGA, sociologue ; Cristovam BUARQUE, (sous réserve) Sénateur de la République du Brésil, ancien ministre de l’Éducation du gouvernement du Président Lula ; et Maria-Fernanda SPINOSA(sous réserve) Linguiste, géographe et anthropologue.
15ème Rendez-Vous de l'Histoire, Blois, 18-21 octobre 2012.

Terre des Hommes France vous invite à une journée de FormAction sur les accaparements de terres ! Le samedi 20 octobre 2012, de 9h à 17h à la Bourse du Travail de Saint-Denis - 11 rue Génin - salle Louise Michelle

The second international academic workshop on ‘Global Land Grabbing’ will be held on 17-19 October 2012 at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, USA. This event is presented by the Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) and the Cornell Department of Development Sociology. Among the confirmed keynote speakers is the new Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Brazilian academic, José Graziano da Silva.

Agriculture Investment Summit 2012 is an event for investors and agriculture companies to learn about partnership & investment opportunities in agricultural commodities, companies and farmland in Asian regions.

Le Festival de films est l’événement central de la campagne ALIMENTERRE. Du 15 octobre au 30 novembre, en France, en Europe et en Afrique de l'ouest, il invite à des débats avec des spécialistes d'Europe ou d'Afrique sur les enjeux agricoles et alimentaires Nord-Sud, à partir d’une sélection de films documentaires.

Découvrez la sélection de films de l'édition 2012, dont "Planète à vendre" sur l'accaparement de terres.