A Talk By Olivier De Schutter, The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food 

Since 2000, an estimated 58 million hectares of farmland have been sold or leased to foreign investors in developing countries. Many of these are countries with weak governance, with few checks against abuse by elites, and no transparency in resource use. Titling schemes have been promoted to protect landusers. However, ensuring security of tenure that leads to a market for land rights may not benefit the poor in rural areas. There need to be safeguards against the risks of the rush towards farmland; acknowledging that land is more than just an economic asset, and recognizing the specific situation of those who have nothing else to survive on than the land they occupy. 

Sponsored by the Displacement Action and Research Network @MIT and the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change