German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) is currently inviting papers that would be presented at International Workshop on Large-Scale Agricultural Investments to be held on May 11, 2012 at Hamburg, Germany. The main objective of conducting this workshop is to bring researchers and practitioners together in order to structure the debate, exchange ideas, and shed light on various dimensions of the problem. The workshop will be organized by a research team at GIGA working in a joint research project on “Large-scale land acquisitions and sustainable development”.
About Large-scale Agricultural Investments
Large-scale agricultural investments and land deals have recently received considerable media coverage. Typically, these deals are perceived as “land grabs” of dubious legal import and of little use to the population in target countries. Notwithstanding these perceptions, surprisingly little is known on the nature and consequences of land deals: Neither on the scale of the phenomenon, nor on the underlying contractual arrangements, and even less on the consequences for the local population.
The academic and practical debate on large-scale land investments is just starting, as are several research projects on different aspects of these land deals.
Workshop Topics
The workshop will address the following dimensions of large-scale land deals:
- Legal and political dimensions: In which regulatory framework do large-scale land deals take place? Which are the actors in land deals and how do they behave? Does the process of “land grabbing” change power relations among different actors?
- Socio-economic dimension: What are the socio-economic consequences of large-scale land deals? How does the reality of large-scale land deals compare to the contractual arrangements (e.g. compensation) and is there any empirical evidence on the effects on local populations?
- Ecological and ethical dimensions: Are ecological and ethical (e.g. human right to food) considerations taken into account? What about the environmental sustainability of new cultivation schemes?
- Historical dimension: A historical dimension would cut across the above issues: Are large-scale land deals a new phenomenon, or are there parallels to earlier similar phenomena (e.g. during or the post-colonial establishment of plantations)?
- Conflict dimension: Again a cross-cutting dimension: Land-use changes and related population dynamics can be a long-term cause of violent conflicts?
Other papers of relevance to large-scale agricultural investments are also welcome.
The keynote lecture will be delivered by Stein T. Holden from the Department of Economics and Resource Management at Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Prof. Holden has published several leading articles on land markets, land registration, land rights, and land tenure.
Submission
Abstract (200 up to 1000 words) need to be submitted in English, which is also the conference language. The workshop will bring together about 50 researchers and practitioners. Participation in the workshop is free; however, travel and accommodation expenses cannot be covered.
Last date for submitting the abstracts is January 30, 2011.
For more information, visit this link.
