There can be no justifications for land grabbing!

, by Grain

There can be no justifications for land grabbing!” social movements and CSOs tell World Bank, UN agencies and governments

17 April 2011

Today, on the International Day of Peasant Struggles, prominent farmers, fisherfolk, human rights and research organisations have sharply criticised the World Bank, three UN agencies and governments for promoting agricultural investments that are resulting in land grabbing on a massive scale.

From 18-20 April, investors, government officials and staff of international agencies will gather in Washington DC for the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty to discuss how to operationalise a framework called Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI). Formulated by the World Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), RAI consists of seven principles which investors may choose whether or not to abide by when conducting large-scale farmland acquisitions.

A statement released by Centro de Estudios para el Cambio en el Campo Mexicano, FIAN International, Focus on the Global South, Friends of the Earth International, Global Campaign on Agrarian Reform, GRAIN, La Via Campesina, Land Research Action Network, Rede Social de Justiça e Direitos Humanos and World Forum of Fisher Peoples calls instead for an outright ban on land grabbing. Read more

 The statement, “It’s time to outlaw land grabbing, not to make it ’responsible’!” can be found online in English at
http://www.grain.org/o/?id=111