Access and exclusion: case of transnational ‘land grabbing’ in Pakistan

Abstract

In recent years, hundreds of thousands of hectares of land in developing countries is being granted to the governments and private investors of developed countries through leases, land purchase and contract farming. Based on the notion of ‘power of exclusion’ this paper explores the process and identifies which social class has more access to new income generating opportunities and who is excluded in the context of transnational land acquisition in Sindh province of Pakistan. Quantitative and qualitative data shows that poor segments of society such as previous land user, women, agricultural labor and landless farmers were the most excluded groups regarding TLA process and associated benefits while elite social groups such as land leaser/politicians and some irrigation department officials have increased access to positive outcomes of transnational land acquisition. Decreasing in the acreages under food crops also have a detrimental impact on local food security.

Keywords:

• Social exclusion
• land grabbing; control grabbing; transnational land acquisition; social classes; food security

Acknowledgment

We are thankful to Higher Education Commission of Pakistan for the financial support for this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

Notes

1 According to Renewable Fuels Agency (Gallagher Report), the biofuel production has deteriorating effects on food market due to food to fuel uses conversion of cereals, utilization of agricultural land for fuels and price inflation triggered by market conjecture (RFA, 2008).

2 They argued “land-grabbing is not inevitable, that it can be prevented, and that concerted efforts should be undertaken to stop it.

3 State land is cultivated directly under the state. The cultivator pays an agreed rent to the state.

4 The sharecropping is a practice in which landowner and tenant equally share the production from cultivated land. Usually both the cost of production and profit are equally shared. In Pakistan, The Tenancy Act (1887) provides sharecropping farmers with some legal protection from eviction (Settle, 2012).

5 False dichotomies, in fact, indicate weaker (or lack of) theoretical and conceptual frameworks (Oya 2013).

6 Sindh is the second most populated province of Pakistan after Punjab.

7 Al Dahra also acquired Brukfiled Rice in Pakistan in 2011.

8 Higher officers from Egypt and Sudan left most probably in 2015.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.