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Recent content by Jennifer Franco

Global Land Grabbing and Trajectories of Agrarian Change: A Preliminary Analysis

The politics of change in land use and in property relations linked to cases of land grabbing are not well understood, and yet are crucial to a deeper understanding of the phenomenon; this paper explores these topics, providing a preliminary analysis.

Land grabbing in Latin America and the Caribbean in broader international perspectives

A critical re-assessment of a UN FAO study on land grabbing finds that a too-narrow definition has obscured evidence of land grabbing on a wider geographical scale than previously thought; this research includes new evidence of cases in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Land, conflict and the challenge of pro-poor peace-building

There is a lot of contention over approaches to land reform policy, in terms of how to involve the state, the market and communities; but what matters most for a socio-economically and politically sustainable solution, is that the policy is genuinely 'pro-poor'.

New Biofuel Project in Isabela

A Philippines biofuel project would appear to fit the World Bank's definition of a "win-win" scenario with its promise of jobs and conversion of 'idle land'. However a closer look unveils corporate manipulation, political corruption and exploitation of subsistence farmers that typically accompanies so-called "responsible investment"

Agricultural Innovation: Sustaining what agriculture? For what European bio-economy?

The Europe 2020 strategy's promotion of resource-efficient technologies and market incentives as the solution for sustainable agriculture is contradicted by experience where techno-fixes and market pressures have increased overall demand on resources.

Political Dynamics of Land-grabbing in Southeast Asia: Understanding Europe's Role

The European Union is a significant player in the widespread occurrence of land-grabbing in Southeast Asia; both through its corporate sector and public policies.

Regulating landgrabbing?

Calls for codes of conduct for landgrabbing not only fail to tackle the main drivers of land dispossession but also legitimise a new wave of land enclosures that will affect many vulnerable rural communities.

Assumptions in the European Union biofuels policy: frictions with experiences in Germany, Brazil and Mozambique

EU biofuels policy is based on the assumption that it will lead to greenhouse gas savings, energy security and rural development, however in-depth research in Germany, Brazil and Mozambique reveals fundamental contradictions between EU policy assumptions and practices in the real world.

Towards a Broader View of the Politics of Global Land Grabbing

The spectre of a global land grab by foreign transnationals has captured media attention, but perhaps the bigger danger lies in the response by institutions like the World Bank, whose supposedly ameliorative measures are likely to entrench dispossession rather than prevent it.

From Threat to Opportunity? Problems with a “Code of Conduct” for Land-Grabbing

The dominant perception of land-grabbing as a threat is being replaced by a new story line, promoted by, amongst other, the World Bank—that of new land deals as a potential opportunity for rural development. But this supposed win-win formula raises many problems, doubts and concerns.

Agrofuel Crops

In recent years, there has been renewed interest in developing agrofuels on a large scale as an alternative to fossil fuel. EU biofuels policy, in particular, assumes that the environmental impacts associated with agrofuels production will be largely beneficial. This study questions such optimistic assumptions.

Contemporary discourses and contestations around pro-poor land policies and land governance

The concern for ‘pro-poor’ land policy has coincided with the mainstream promotion of efficient administration of land policies, leading to the concept of ‘land governance’. This paper aims at better understanding of contemporary policy discourses and political contestations around land and land governance.

Pro-Poor Policy Reforms and Governance in State/Public Lands:

This paper attempts to specify the key criteria of a ‘pro-poor land policy’ and ‘truly democratic land governance’ concerning state/public lands, using the lessons from activist databases, including that of the international human rights organization Foodfirst Information and Action Network (FIAN).

Transnational agrarian movements: struggling for land and citizenship rights
La Vía Campesina’s transnational campaign in protest against neoliberal land policies has helped to generate new meanings of global citizenship.

 

Rural Democratisation: (Re)Framing rural poor political action

With two-thirds of the world’s poor rural poor, rural democratisation is clearly relevant and urgent, but at the same time an especially difficult--and underestimated--challenge. If democracy is to be organically rooted in any society, the struggle to “get there” must systematically be opened up to integrate rural poor citizens system-wide, taking stock of their aspirations and, more importantly, their existing efforts to gain control of decision-making affecting their lives.