ES HORA DE PROHIBIR EL ACAPARAMIENTO DE TIERRAS, NO DE DARLE UNA FACHADA DE “RESPONSABILIDAD”

A statement by Friends of the Earth International and a coalition of social movements condemning the 'Principles of Responsible Agricultural Investment' (RAI) as a facade to legitimize large-scale land grabbing. The document argues that these voluntary principles, promoted by the World Bank and other international agencies, mask financial speculation and human rights violations while advocating instead for food sovereignty and genuine land reform.

• The 'Principles of Responsible Agricultural Investment' (RAI) are described as a maneuver to legitimize land grabbing and provide a 'moral facade' for corporate control of agricultural lands. These seven voluntary principles were jointly promoted from January 2010 by the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
• Large-scale land acquisitions are characterized as financial speculation aimed at a 20% profit rate, which the document claims is incompatible with food security because food production typically only yields profits between 3% and 5%.
• The document asserts that at least 50 million hectares of fertile farmland have been transferred from farmers to corporations in recent years. It cites a 2010 World Bank report stating that 47 million hectares were leased or sold globally in 2009 alone, and a Global Land Project estimate that 63 million hectares changed hands in 27 African countries.
• The World Bank's own research into large-scale land acquisitions reportedly failed to find convincing examples of benefits for poor countries or communities, finding instead a 'long list of losses'. The document notes that the Bank had to rely on the civil society website farmlandgrab.org because involved companies and governments refused to share information.
• Land grabbing is linked to severe human rights violations, including forced evictions, the repression of critics, the privatization of water resources, and the implementation of unsustainable agricultural models that destroy natural environments.
• The coalition calls for an immediate ban on land grabbing, the rescission of existing contracts, and the return of seized land. They advocate for a transition toward food sovereignty based on peasant and family farming, ecological methods, and genuine land and water reform.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2011). ES HORA DE PROHIBIR EL ACAPARAMIENTO DE TIERRAS, NO DE DARLE UNA FACHADA DE “RESPONSABILIDAD”. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/RAI-ES.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. ES HORA DE PROHIBIR EL ACAPARAMIENTO DE TIERRAS, NO DE DARLE UNA FACHADA DE “RESPONSABILIDAD”. 2011. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/RAI-ES.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=ES HORA DE PROHIBIR EL ACAPARAMIENTO DE TIERRAS, NO DE DARLE UNA FACHADA DE “RESPONSABILIDAD” |date=17 April 2011 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/RAI-ES.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{friendsoftheearthinternational2011hora, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{ES HORA DE PROHIBIR EL ACAPARAMIENTO DE TIERRAS, NO DE DARLE UNA FACHADA DE “RESPONSABILIDAD”}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2011}, month = apr, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/RAI-ES.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }