Responsible Large-Scale Agricultural Acquisitions: framing an overview for the Mekong Region

Document type:
Seminar video

Date of seminar:
17th January 2018

Location:
Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Seminar speakers:
Dr Jean-Christophe Diepart (Mekong Region Land Governance project)
Shalmali Guttal (Focus in the Global South)
Professor Philip Hirsch (Chiang Mai University)

Moderator: Daniel Hayward (Mekong Land Research Forum)

Abstract:
Since the 1990s, a new wave of large-scale land acquisitions for agricultural investments has emerged world-wide and in particular in the Mekong region. This seminar aims to provide a historical overview of the dynamics through which these investments have emerged. A synthesis of data is offered for a present-day analysis, allowing for country comparison and regional synthesis. What have been the effects of land acquisitions, both in terms of spurring national economic growth, and impacts upon smallholder farming systems? What are appropriate frameworks with which to understand strategies of capital investment, and their relationship with land tenure? The seminar intends to explore the existing data on these themes and look for gaps for future research.

Video links:
Video 1: Dr Jean-Christophe Diepart: Responsible large-scale land acquisitions in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam
Video 2: Shalmali Guttal: Framing a relationship between investment and land tenure
Video 3: Professor Philip Hirsch: Large-scale land acquisitions – a perspective on Thailand