International Conference on Global Land Grabbing II

Across the world, we are seeing a dramatic rise in the extent of cross-border, transnational corporation-driven and foreign government-driven, large-scale land deals unfolding. Such ‘land grabs’ revolve around the production and sale of food and biofuels, conservation and mining activities. Understanding the social, economic and political consequences is an important challenge.

As a follow up to the highly successful International Conference on Global Land Grabbing held in 2011 at IDS, the Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) is organising a second international academic conference to be held from 17-19 October 2012 at the Africana Studies Center at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA, and have just announced a call for papers.  

The Future Agricultures Consortium, whose secretariat is at IDS, is one of the organisers. Among the confirmed keynote speakers is the new Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Brazilian academic, José Graziano da Silva.

The organisers invite papers that offer rigorous and innovative analysis based on recent, original field research. Doctoral students and younger researchers, particularly from the global South, are especially encouraged to participate. The deadline for submission of abstracts to landpolitics@gmail.com is 31 May 2012.

For full details see the Call for Papers document (Word doc) on the Future Agricultures website.