Land Grabbing and the Concentration of Global Farmland

There is a concerning trend of land grabbing by a few transnational companies, including financial investors like Blue Carbon from the UAE, Australia-based Macquarie, and Canada’s Manulife, as well as agribusiness giants like Olam and Wilmar from Singapore. This accumulation of land in the hands of a select group of elite entities has been on the rise since the 2008 financial crisis, with transnational investors acquiring an estimated 65 million hectares of land—twice the size of Germany since 2000.

As a result, one percent of farms now control 70 percent of global farmland, posing a threat to the livelihoods of 2.5 billion smallholder farmers and 1.4 billion of the world’s poorest individuals who rely on agriculture for sustenance.

Communities like Angelim face devastating consequences due to land grabbing and concentration, with reports linking top global landowners to forced displacements, environmental degradation, and violence against local populations.

Biodiversity Concerns

Land concentration not only exacerbates inequality and social conflict but also undermines states’ ability to ensure that land tenure serves the public good and facilitates a transition to sustainable economic models. This is particularly crucial in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss.

While transnational landowners are associated with practices like industrial monoculture plantations and deforestation, Indigenous Peoples and rural communities manage up to 80 percent of intact forests, supporting higher biodiversity and sustainable food production on just 35 percent of global cropland.

Dispossession and “Green Grabs”

The rise of “green grabs,” where land is acquired for purported environmental purposes, accounts for about 20 percent of large-scale land deals. This includes the acquisition of over 5.2 million hectares in Africa for carbon offset projects since 2016.

With the global carbon market expected to quadruple in the next seven years, half of the top ten global landowners are involved in carbon and biodiversity markets, using “net zero” initiatives as a pretext to displace communities from their lands.

Addressing Land Inequality

Efforts to tackle land grabbing and concentration must shift from regulation to redistribution. Redistributive policies are essential to reversing the trend of massive land and wealth transfers to corporations and the ultra-rich.

International cooperation is crucial in addressing land inequality, with the upcoming International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD) in Colombia presenting a crucial opportunity for governments to agree on measures to end land grabbing, reverse land concentration, and ensure sustainable resource distribution.

Promoting Sustainable Land Practices

Global initiatives on a tax convention and an international mechanism to address sovereign debt can empower states to implement redistributive policies and just transitions. Binding legal provisions are also needed to prevent transnational corporations from exploiting national rules for profit.

In a world facing multiple crises, there is an opportunity to move towards a more just and sustainable future by departing from neoliberal policies that have benefited only a few. It is essential to create a global future that prioritizes equity and sustainability for all.

About the Authors

Shalmali Guttal is a senior analyst focusing on the Global South and a member of IPES-Food, while Philip Seufert coordinates FIAN International’s land program. The authors reached out to the companies mentioned in the report for their input, incorporating relevant information into their research findings.