Small-scale land acquisitions, large-scale implications

Title:  Small-scale land acquisitions, large-scale implications:  The case of Chinese banana investments in northern Laos
By:  Cicilie Friis, 2015
Cost:  FREE download
Abstract (short):

In the context of the ‘global land grab’, the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic has been identified as a hotspot  for  large-scale  land  acquisitions  sought  by  capital  strong  foreign  investors.  However,  in  the rapidly  commercialising  agrarian  landscape  of  northern  Laos,  other  and  more  subtle  forms  of  land acquisitions  are  also  taking  place.  These  are  mainly  pursued  by  smaller  companies  and  private investors  promoting  cash-crops  in  contract-farming  arrangements  or  renting  agricultural  land  from farmers  on  short-term  contracts;  often  with  little or  no  initial  involvement  of  the  government  actors. 

This  paper  investigates  such  ‘small-scale’  land  acquisitions  in  relation to the  recent  boom  in  banana investments  in  Long  District,  Luang  Namtha  Province.

Download link:  International Institute of Social Studies