Land acquisition: a means to mitigate water scarcity and reduce conflict?

ABSTRACT

In recent years there has been a surge in land investments, primarily in the African continent, but also in Asia and Latin America. This increase in land investment was driven by the food pricing crisis of 2007–2008. Land investors can be identified from a variety of sectors, with actors ranging from hedge funds to national companies. Many water-scarce countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are among these financiers, and primarily invest in Africa. Recognizing the potential for “outsourcing” their food security (and thereby also partly their water security), Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have invested in land for food production in Africa. The extent to which this is happening is still unclear, as many contracts are not yet official and the extent of the leases is vague. This paper investigates the land investments and acquisitions by Middle Eastern countries. It also seeks to analyse what effect, if any, these investments can have on the potential for conflict reduction and subsequent peacebuilding in the Middle East region as the activity removes pressure from transboundary water resources.

EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis ASSOCIATE EDITOR K. Aggestam     

Competition and Knowledge in Javanese Rural Business

The paper focuses on information flows and the need for change in cottage industries in rural Indonesia. The context for small-scale business entrepreneurs has changed dramatically during the last decade of economic liberalisation and crisis. Emerging market opportunities, as well as national and international competition, now challenge indigenous businesses in their different geographical settings, and new information is indispensable for survival and growth. The principal question in the paper is whether small-scale agribusiness entrepreneurs are able to identify and utilise existing knowledge for the purpose of improving their competitive strength. By using case studies taking an actor's perspective, the empirical data give insight into the small entrepreneurs' perceptions of their business environments and the hindrances to innovation. Theories on dual economies, path dependence and information asymmetry form the basis for analysing two cases of Javanese agribusiness. The paper concludes that a gap prevails between "traditional" and "modern" sectors of this society, and that cottage industries have much to gain from linking up with external agencies. Regional universities may play a crucial role in enhancing information flows and disseminating competence.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
Roderick P. Neumann, Imposing Wilderness: Struggles over Livelihood and Nature Preservation in Africa
Richard A. Schroeder, Shady Practices: Agroforestry and Gender Politics in The Gambia
Adebayo Adedeji (ed.), Comprehending and Mastering African Conflicts: The Search for Sustainable Peaceand Good Governance
Hilgard O'Reilly Sternberg, A água e o homem na várzea do Careiro     

区域农业产业化发展评估指标体系的构建与应用——基于新疆兵团的实证分析

 农业产业化评价指标体系是评估区域农业产业化发展水平的重要依据。从农业产业化发展的本质内涵出发,从农业生产、农产品加工、农产品销售和利益联结状况4个方面出发,构建了兵团农业产业化评价指标体系,并运用因子分析法,对其2005-2009年间农业产业化发展水平进行了实证分析。结果表明：2005-2009年间,兵团农业产业化整体上保持了逐年发展的态势,但是对农业产业化发展公因子的分析结果表明,农业生产规模指标与农业产业化发展水平弱相关,表明兵团农业产业化的发展更多的是依靠生产规模以外的因素;农业产业化利益联结因子系数为负值,表明现行利益联结机制不利于兵团农业产业化的发展。基于上述研究结论,给出了进一步促进兵团农业产业化发展的对策建议。     

Agribusiness on a Grand Scale – Felda's Sahabat Complex in East Malaysia

While agribusiness is normally associated with western multinational companies, Malaysia provides an alternative example of a Third World agribusiness, the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA). FELDA has evolved through an advisory stage and then a major land settlement agency phase, assisting Malaysia's rural poor, to its present position as a major employer of immigrant agricultural labour and as a large commercial business in palm oil exporting. This recent agribusiness approach is best exemplified by FELDA's Sahabat complex of 54 schemes in Eastern Sabah. There, mono‐cultural oil palm cropping has been successfully developed while earlier environmental concerns have been largely ignored. Plans for Sahabat have been modified to accommodate immigrant labourers from Indonesia and the Philippines rather than local settlers from Malaysia. A modernised plantation approach has taken over from the initial contract farming and social engineering approach.     

Reflecting on Role Play in Geographic Education: The Case of the Banana War

Abstract

Debates over the nature and extent of globalization raise many issues to be addressed in a geographic education. In this paper, I briefly review case method instruction and role-play as teaching strategies suitable for material on globalization and other geographic subject matter, and then sketch an overview of an undergraduate geography role-play that treats themes of globalization and agricultural trade. The role-play revolves around a real-world trade dispute, referred to as the Banana War, that was waged between the United States and the European Union during much of the 1990s over who could sell how many bananas to Europe. I conclude the paper by reflecting on the contributions of, limitations to and possibilities for case method instruction and role-play in geographic education.     

中外贸工农一体化经营地域模式比较研究

贸工农一体化经营在经济发达国家已有半个世纪的发展历程,近几年来在我国开始兴起并迅速发展。本文尝试从一体化经营起步和发展的背景入手,从农业专业化区域、产业链的空间配置、农产品和农业经营要素流通三方面分析贸工农一体化经营的空间组织形式,进而对发达国家和我国的贸工农一体化经营的地域模式进行比较分析。最后提出讨论农业专业化区域、生产的社会化和内部化、农产品加工运销体系,贸工农一体化的组织形式和利益分配机制