ANGOC was invited to participate in the World Bank’s Annual Conference on Land Policy and Administration held on 26-27 April in Washington, D.C., USA. Mr. Nathaniel Don Marquez, ANGOC’s Executive Director, was a discussant for the session on Facilitating a Fair Deal: The Role of Civil Society (and Governments), under the theme Large Scale Agricultural Investment. Bringing to the table Asian civil society perspectives on such agricultural investments, Mr. Marquez pointed out the problems arising from foreign investments, such as the unsustainability of large-scale monocropping and the food crisis, at the root of which is poor access to land.

Agricultural investments should address first and foremost the questions of who benefits and whose food security is pursued. Before a fair deal can even be facilitated, equal footing should exist among stakeholders. Before negotiations can even take place, reforms and real dialogue should be made. The credibility of institutions to monitor such investments should also be considered.  

For governments, the recommendations were to: implement genuine agrarian reform and sustainable agriculture; formulate a land use planning policy; and promote good governance on land. While for CSOs, recommendations include continuing to conduct action research to enhance dialogues and campaigns; and engaging the whole spectrum of institutions to uphold communities’ rights to land and food.  

During the open forum, Mr. Marquez reiterated that when investments are concerned, we cannot avoid sharing risks. If an investment fails, an investor loses money – but people may lose their lives and livelihoods.  

The said Conference was organized recognizing the many challenges relating to land, all of which necessitate good land governance and concerted efforts at national and international levels to move forward. The Conference had three major themes: i) large scale land acquisition; ii) land governance; and iii) research and capacity building.