The document discusses a policy forum on the need for ASEAN regional policies and safeguards for sustainable private sector agricultural investments. [1] It notes that agricultural investments in the region have increased significantly and most of the world's small farms are in Asia. [2] It suggests developing partnerships between companies and communities to ensure equity and mutually beneficial solutions, rather than land acquisition. [3] The document provides statistics on land deals in different regions and proposes suggestions around analyzing regulatory gaps, balancing enabling and restrictive policies, ensuring stakeholder engagement and accountability.

1. Policy Forum on the Need for ASEAN
Regional Policies and Safeguards for
Sustainable Private Sector
Agricultural Investments
UP NCPAG, Philippines
Oct 22, 2012
Seema Gaikwad, ILC Asia Coordinator, Philippines

2. Making ASEAN a community by 2015
• Investments (Agriculture) in the region have
increased FDI increase 95.6 % 2010
• 87 percent of the world’s 500 million small
scale farms (less than 2 ha) are in Asia
• Instead of land acquisition how can we
develop a partnership between companies
and communities, ensure equity share and
mutually beneficial solutions

3. Africa Asia
Source: Anseeuw,
W., L. Alden Wily,
L. Cotula, and M.
Taylor. 2012.
“Land Rights and
the Rush for Land:
Findings of the
Global Commercial
Regional cross-referenced deals Pressures on Land
Million ha Latin America Research Project”.
ILC, Rome

4. Source: Anseeuw, W., L. Alden Wily, L.
Cotula, and M. Taylor. 2012. “Land Intra-regional
Rights and the Rush for Land: Findings Extra-regional
of the Global Commercial

5. GHI combines three equally weighted indicators in
one index: 1. Undernourishment: 2. Child
underweight 3. Child mortality:)

6. Suggestions
• Current regulatory regime: An Analysis to understand and reduce
regulatory gaps, of member countries
• Regulatory regime will put in place two policy trajectories
Enabling and Restrictive : We need to propose a balance
• How will we ensure that this regulatory mechanism is of high quality
 How would we ensure stakeholder engagements
 How do we ensure that the national standards and regulations,
implementation and monitoring are consistent
 How do we ensure that government (through) investors more
accountable and transparent in the social , economic, environment impact
assessments
 Issues of account equity and justice.
 What administrative machinery will be required to deal with this
 What capacity building will be required for enforcement and compliance
mechanisms

7. Suggestions
• Asia Europe Meeting(ASEM) 8 & 9 outcomes
(intergovernmental and people’s forum)
o Senior officials meetings on trade and investments
o Asia Europe Business Forum (AEBF), aims to strengthen
economic co-operation between the business sectors of both
regions.
o Asia – Europe Foundation: civil society concerns are included as a vital
component of deliberations of the ASEM
o National and Regional Human Rights Mechanisms, 2011
• Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) outcomes
(investment regimes)
• ASEAN outcomes (intergovernmental and people’s forum)

8. Suggestions
• Voluntary guidelines on good governance and
tenure security
• The Eleven Principles: Minimum Human Rights
Principles Applicable to Large –Scale Land
Acquisition & Leases; Special Rapporteur on the
Right to Food
• Principles of Responsible Agriculture Investments
that respects Rights, Livelihoods & Resources
• Enforcement and Compliance Mechanism World
Bank and ADB

9. Thank you