Rubber prices in northern Laos have fallen significantly over the last few years, eroding much of the initial enthusiasm of both farmers and government officials about rubber providing a way out of poverty for poor upland farmers. This thematic study examines responses to this price drop by Lao rubber growers and state institutions in northern Laos. It also examines the reasons that prices are what they are, given that price volatility was identified as a risk during the mid-2000s, and that in at least some cases, steps were taken to protect contract farmers from falling prices.

This event, hosted at ODI in London, was convened to discuss the use of new technologies to map and document land rights, and their impact on land registration and administration, and provide updates on recent activities of Forum membe

Moçambique é hoje um excelente exemplo para ilustrar a relação de reciprocidade entre desenvolvimento económico e o Direito. De facto, as dinâmicas económicas que se têm verificado no país, caracterizadas por sucessivas descobertas de recursos naturais, e que colocam o país numa posição de destaque sob ponto de vista económico, têm estado a contribuir para uma intensa actividade legislativa e normativa para responder aos desafios económicos que o presente e o futuro apresentam para o país.

Since the onset of the phenomenon of large scale land acquisition for agri-business in Sierra Leone, after the first whistle was blown by Green Scenery, many studies have been conducted by various researchers, some to meet requirements for degree thesis, others for policy and development purposes. There is the fear in a school of thought opposed to large scale land acquisition that there is danger in corporate entities ascribing huge portions of land to themselves in the guise of investment and annihilating the actual land owners.

This analytical paper explores how political economy analysis can help practitioners make sense of the issues, and distils insights from practical experience on how legal empowerment initiatives can rise to the challenge.

It is aimed at legal empowerment practioners and analysts.

This guide provides information for companies in the mining, oil and gas sector - and their consultants - on how to undertake a gender impact assessment to gain and maintain a “social licence to operate” with impacted communities and avoid conflict and costly shut-downs. It

• describes some important principles and approaches that should underpin a gender impact assessment,

• provides a framework for companies to identify, understand and respond to the gender impacts of an extractive industry project, and

• outlines some key concepts, definitions and case studies.

This guide helps communities, community-based organisations and other supporters know what to do if a company is planning to develop projects on or near their customary lands, using a loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – the private sector part of the World Bank Group. This guide is also useful for any projects using loans from other funders or companies that have chosen to follow the IFC’s social and environmental rules.

Land registration and titling in Africa has been seen as a means of legal empowerment of the poor that can protect smallholders’ and pastoralists’ rights of access to land and other landbased resources.

This preliminary study involved consultation of responsible district government officials and relevant Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on various issues related to land and investments. Among other areas, the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) was selected as a study site and study used the Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) to obtain information. Questionnaire designed reflected land investment  governance  process  thematic  areas.

Kenya’s Vision 2030 aims at transforming the country into a newly industrialized middle income country

and infrastructural development is high on the agenda to achieve this. Competing land uses and existing

interests in land make the use of eminent domain by government in acquiring land inevitable. However

most of the land earmarked for compulsory acquisition comprises of un- registered land whose interests

O investimento é, certamente, um factor com grande influência sobre a produção, por via do aumento de novas capacidades produtivas, da modernização do tecido produtivo, através da inovação, mais eficiente e com maior produtividade.

Novas capacidades produtivas significam mais emprego, mais renda para as famílias e aumento de impostos. Mais exportação e/ou menos importações. Pode implicar mais segurança alimentar, dependendo dos tipos de investimentos realizados (tipos de produtores, culturas e mercados de destino dos bens produzidos).

This note is part of an Action Notes series and provides guidance for governments and companies on how to design business models for responsible agricultural investment. It outlines the general types of models available and the considerations for selecting and/or designing a blended model to suit the context of the investment.