ABSTRACT
In recent years there has been a substantial increase in the amount and frequency of land acquisitions in a number of countries by players from outside the country, operating at a large scale. Reliable figures suggest that as of 2017, as much as 3 per cent of the world’s arable land and permanent crop land has been the subject of such deals (FAO, 2017: Land Matrix figures). The land is being secured for agricultural production – or in some cases, for environmental protection – and particularly affects both Africa and Southeast Asia (Cotula, 2012; Deininger, 2011; Margulis et al., 2013).
