Responsible agricultural investments in developing countries

Swedish FAO Committee25 March 2014

Bo Göransson

ABBBAAfrican Bioenergy and

Biofuels Business Assessment

• Starting point: Investments are needed.

”How”, not ”if”• Trees and forests: Utilize, develop, prevent.

Stoves, cars, game corridors, waste• 3 years. Small and with no money.

Matchmakers (we thought…..)

What is out there?

• Money, both international and local• Ideas and needs• Demand : Growth, urbanization• Policies, guidelines: IFC, FAO etc• Also ABBBA. ”Stolen with pride”. More feasibility

than assessments.

But…….

• Money is not used. Not ”bankable”• Big business “self contained”.• Forest industry shell shocked. • The small are -just small.• Banks risk averse • CAP + RED = Inv/Trade barriers. True? • Different standards for different crops?

Policies for investments. The same song sheet, but…

• Who cares or owns? Investors, NGOs, FAO, media, countries, people?

• Individual ownership/tenure or stronger ownership of communal land?

• Sanctions. Case of Ethiopia• Transparency. Case of Gambella. Role of Banks, IFI,s

donors, NGOs, media.• Sweden in the 19th century: Farmers robbed. Laws,

farmers org., surveyors

Frankly

• It is about power, stupid

Quo vadis?

• Level the playing field for investments - remove trade barriers

• Main actors must act. Role of pension funds, Swedfund, Business Sweden?

• New instruments or directives. Guarantees? • The big and the small must act together

and…….• ……..be local and persistent• ABBBA: Matchmaker or midwife?

Finally.

Do not use the phrase “land grab”!