Finance Capital, Food Security Narratives and Australian Agricultural Land

Abstract

The growing involvement of financial actors in food production

The financialization of agri-food in Canada and Australia: Corporate farmland and farm ownership in the grains and oilseed sector

“…As major exporters, both countries are poised to benefit from rising demand for basic agricultural commodities, a point mentioned by nearly every interview respondent. In Australia, industry and government discourses draw a direct link between the country's proximity to growing Asian markets and the future of the agricultural sector (Larder et al, 2015). With an influx of private capital, Australia is set to further expand its exports and deepen its commitment to productionist agriculture.…”

“…In Canada, federal governments embraced continental e then global e free trade, eliminated key farm programs, and deregulated traditional farm supports such as transportation subsidies (Knuttila, 2003;Skogstad, 2008). Since 2006, the federal Conservative government has pursued the further neoliberalization of the grains sector by stripping the Canadian Wheat Board of its marketing monopoly (Magnan, 2014).…”

“…Foreign investment in large-scale agricultural development projects continued throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. In recent years, governments of different political stripes have continued to express their desire to attract foreign investment (Larder et al, 2015). Canada has no comparable history of largescale foreign direct investment in agricultural production.…”

“…While there does not seem to be any pattern to the non-responses and refusals (e.g., firm size, private versus public companies, sector, etc. ), other researchers have reported difficulties gaining access to company officials in the Australian finance and agri-food sectors (Larder et al, 2015). The interviews were conducted with company officials who could speak with authority on the firm's business and investment strategies.…”

La financiarización de la agricultura: La participación del plan de pensiones de Canadá en Glencore

“…De acuerdo a ISAKSON (2014), la actual fase de financiarización que se ha venido desarrollando desde fines de los 1970´s ha permeado casi todos los aspectos del sistema alimentario, expandiéndose marcadamente a raíz de la crisis alimentaria, energética y financiera del 2007-08, la cual generó una mayor conciencia sobre la escasez y el carácter finito de los recursos naturales (SIPPEL et al, 2016;MARTIN y CLAPP, 2015). El proceso de financiarización ha transformado diversas esferas del sistema alimentario a nivel mundial, como es el comercio y procesamiento de alimentos (SALERNO, 2014;CLAPP, 2015;ISAKSON, 2014;BURCH y LAWRENCE, 2013); el manejo de riesgos y precios (ISAKSON, 2014), y el sector de insumos y tierra agrícola (SIPPEL et al, 2016;LARDER et al, 2015;LAWRENCE et al, 2015;ISAKSON, 2014).…”