1. Alternatives to land acquisitions Agricultural investment and collaborative business models Lorenzo Cotula Senior researcher International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)

2. Intro  Growing interest in agricultural investment – food security, commercial returns  Global land rush: lively if polarised debate  Is it possible to invest in ways that leave land and share value with smallholders?  Ongoing research and lesson- learning – in collaboration with IFAD, FAO and SDC

3.  Not imply that family farmers always need outside investors to succeed  Beware of “new orthodoxies” – need for farmers’ voice to be heard  No tinkering around the edges – assess inclusiveness of core business model based on  Ownership  Voice  Risk  Reward

4. The models  There are alternatives to land acquisitions  Wide range of models - contract farming, joint ventures, lease/management contracts, supply chain relations...  Great diversity within models  Often used in combination  Some well tested and documented, others more recent  Collaboration in production vs value- sharing mainly through rewards (eg leases)  Context and crop key

5. All that glitters is not gold – devil is in the detail  Whether collaborative models benefit local groups depends on process and terms  Contract farming: access to inputs and markets, more stable incomes – or exploitative outsourcing of risks  Joint ventures: equity stake, board representation, dividends – or land loss, nominal say, transfer pricing  Local disaggregation needed to assess impacts; longer-term, impacts on land access possible

6. Challenges and ways forward  Assumption that large-scale is beautiful, ad hoc negotiations, weak governance  Strategic vision based on informed public debate in host countries  Careful scrutiny of investment proposals  Transparency and public oversight  For investors: little incentives, high transaction costs  Secure local land rights  Well thought out policy incentives  Intermediaries and development agencies  Unequal negotiating power  Collective action  Information is power  External support