C-SocPhil hosts special briefing with Oakland Institute on African land-grab investments
Tellus Institute brings stakeholders together to discuss problems in agriland investments
BOSTON — Following the release of three country-specific reports by the Oakland Institute on agricultural land investments in Africa, the Center for Social Philanthropy at Tellus Institute hosted Oakland Institute Executive Director Anuradha Mittal and Board Member Jeff Furman for an in-depth briefing and discussion with stakeholders representing a variety of NGOs, academics, investors, students, and labor groups.
Mittal and Furman presented and led the discussion along with C-SocPhil director Josh Humphreys. Dr. Humphreys provided insight into recent trends that have driven increased investment by college endowments and other institutional investors into alternative asset classes such as agricultural land.
Mittal and Furman explained the Oakland Institute’s findings that these investments are particularly enticing because their managers claim to yield high returns and tout them as “sustainable” ways to “feed Africa” and the world. In fact, however, any food, fuels, or other goods produced on these purchased lands are often exported out of Africa, and the development of these sites can force hundreds of thousands of people from the land on which they have lived their entire lives. No social or environmental impact assessments are conducted before these developments occur, Mittal said, and the human rights violations, conflicts, and resulting risks for investments are underplayed by investment managers.
The discussion that followed involved participants from Tellus Institute, Grassroots International, the Initiative for Responsible Investment at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, Oxfam America, the Responsible Endowments Coalition, Reynders McVeigh, the Service Employees International Union, the Sustainable Endowments Institute, and Trillium Asset Management.
Questions and conversations focused on power dynamics and the need for greater transparency and accountability in the agricultural land investment process. Mittal described situations in which investors have evaded community consultation by convincing tribal leaders that their investments will help the people living there. She also provided examples of local resistance sparked by land grabs and labor conditions in Ethiopia and South Sudan. Furman suggested that if any standards were to be put in place to enforce the actual social, environmental, and economic sustainability of these investments, such requirements would have to be rigid and accountable in order to prevent these dangerous cases. Participants highlighted the particularly weak transparency in college investments even though endowments benefit from tax exemption.
The group also discussed prospects for the development of new more responsible forms of investment in smaller scale, sustainable agriculture.
For more information about the event or about C-SocPhil’s work on alternative investments and other research related to endowments, contact Josh Humphreys at jh@socialphilanthropy.org or (617) 575-9660.
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR SOCIAL PHILANTHROPY
The Center for Social Philanthropy (C-SocPhil) is an innovative, nonprofit social enterprise working on the frontiers of philanthropy and finance. We provide data, research, resources and tools to help foundations, donors, and other mission-driven investors leverage their assets more fully for long-term, sustainable social and environmental impact. The Center is housed at Tellus Institute, a think tank in Boston pursuing a Great Transition to a more just, sustainable and equitable global civilization.
ABOUT THE OAKLAND INSTITUTE
The Oakland Institute is a policy think tank dedicated to advancing public participation and fair debate on critical social, economic, and environmental issues. For more information, please visit http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/.
