FAO sets wheels in motion to help launch 2015 world forum on access to land

2^nd meeting of the organizing committee on access to land calls for civil society organizations and governmental institutions to mobilize and launch global debate on land tenure and investment agreements 

The International Organizing Committee of the World Forum on Access to Land and Natural Resources (WFAL) held its second meeting at FAO’s headquarters in Rome earlier this month, encouraging a discussion on solutions to help improve poor farmers’ access to land, water and natural resources.  

Signatories of the WFAL call for a global forum on the subject to be held next year to address the problems of unequal access to land and debate how current international agreements will influence smallholders.

The Food and Agriculture Organization was one of the first signatories to WFAL’s appeal to hold a world forum and seek ways to improve access to land and resources. Others include the agriculture ministries of Brazil, Senegal and the Philippines, as well as hosts of civil-society organizations and farmers’ groups.

In June this year, FAO hosted the organizing committee’s first meeting, with the participation of representatives of FAO, IFAD, the European Commission and the World Rural Forum. The meeting raised concerns on the recent large-scale land acquisitions and leases by export-focused agricultural commodity enterprises which has worsened food security conditions and poses environmental risks.  

Since then, the Committee on World Food Security used its plenary meeting at FAO’s headquarters to approve the ‘Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems’ aimed at assuring that cross-border and corporate investment flows lead to improved food security and sustainability and respect the rights of farm and food workers.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva applauded the agreement, expressing confidence that it would trigger more investment in agriculture and noting that the private sector will play an important role in implementing these principles.

A similar agreement -  the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure - was brokered in 2012 after a period of volatile and rising food prices triggered a spate of so-called “land grabs” in many developing countries.

WFAL members say that while large-scale agricultural investments today often reap rewards for their shareholders, their overall economic efficiency is far from guaranteed. The 2015 forum looks to identify and implement effective and efficient long term solutions.