Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The Global Farms Race

The Global Farms Race

LAND GRABS, AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT, AND THE SCRAMBLE FOR FOOD SECURITY

MICHAEL KUGELMAN AND SUSAN L. LEVENSTEIN
Hardcover $50.00
ISBN: 9781610911863
Published October 2012
248 pages

As we struggle to feed a global population speeding toward 9 billion, we have entered a new phase of the food crisis. Wealthy countries that import much of their food, along with private investors, are racing to buy or lease huge swaths of farmland abroad. The Global Farms Race is the first book to examine this burgeoning trend in all its complexity, considering the implications for investors, host countries, and the world as a whole.

The debate over large-scale land acquisition is typically polarized, with critics lambasting it as a form of “neocolonialism,” and proponents lauding it as an elixir for the poor yields, inefficient technology, and unemployment plaguing global agriculture. The Global Farms Race instead offers diverse perspectives, featuring contributions from agricultural investment consultants, farmers’ organizations, international NGOs, and academics. The book addresses historical context, environmental impacts, and social effects, and covers all the major geographic areas of investment.

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