资源描述
OXFAM DISCUSSION PAPERS FEBRUARY 2017Oxfam Discussion Papers Oxfam Discussion Papers are written to contribute to public debate and to invite feedback on development and humanitarian policy issues. They are work in progress documents, and do not necessarily constitute final publications or reflect Oxfam policy positions. The views and recommendations expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Oxfam. For more information, or to comment on this paper, email jburnleyoxfam.uk oxfamWHOSE CROPS, AT WHAT PRICE? Agricultural investment in Myanmar After years of international isolation, Myanmar is liberalizing its economy and seeking to attract foreign investment. But while foreign investment can play an important role in developing the countrys agriculture sector, in the current environment of limited transparency and accountability, an increase in agribusiness investments poses serious risks to the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and others dependent on land. This paper looks at the current level and types of agribusiness investment into Myanmar, outlines potential risks to communities posed by these investments, and explores state regulation of outbound investments as a potential way to promote responsible business practices in the sector. The paper makes a series of recommendations to the Government of Myanmar, foreign governments with investment interests in Myanmar and businesses investing in or sourcing from Myanmar on improving scrutiny and monitoring of investments, tackling land rights abuses and ensuring that companies honour their responsibilities to respect human rights. 2 Whose Crops, At What Price? Agricultural investment in Myanmar CONTENTS Summary . 5 1 Introduction . 9 2 Why is agricultural investment in Myanmar important? . 11 A snapshot of agriculture in myanmar . 11 A sector dominated by small-scale farming . 12 Growing land concessions . 13 Contract farming . 14 3 Foreign investment into Myanmar . 16 Regional investment in agriculture . 18 4 Impacts and risks associated with agricultural investment in Myanmar25 Consequences of weak transparency . 25 Land conflict, displacement and resettlement . 26 Impact of agriculture investments on women . 27 Risks to investors . 28 5 International standards and guidelines for responsible investment . 30 6 State regulation of outbound investments . 33 Guidelines related to chinese overseas investment and finance . 33 The Thai national human rights commission. 34 ASEAN intergovernmental commission on human rights . 35 7 Conclusion and recommendations. 36 Notes. 41 Whose Crops, At What Price? Agricultural investment in Myanmar 3 ACRONYMS ACMECS AyeyawadyChao PhrayaMekong Economic Cooperation Strategy ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations AICHR Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights BHRRC Business and Human Rights Resource Centre BIDV Bank for Development and Investment of Vietnam BIT Bilateral investment treaty CBRC China Banking Regulatory Commission CFS Committee on World Food Security COFCO China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation CP Charoen Pokphand Group CSO Civil society organization DICA Directorate of Investment and Company Administration ESIA Environmental and social impact assessment FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FDI Foreign direct investment FPIC Free, prior and informed consent GDP Gross domestic product GoM Government of Myanmar ICJ International Commission of Jurists IFC International Finance Corporation IMF International Monetary Fund KNU Karen National Union KSL Khon Kaen Sugar LCG Land Core Group MCRB Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business MIC Myanmar Investment Commission MNHRC Myanmar National Human Rights Commission MOAI Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation MOECAF Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry MOFCOM Ministry of Commerce of the Peoples Republic of China MRF Myanmar Rice Federation MSU Michigan State University NHRC Office of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand NLUP National Land Use Policy NSPAW National Plan for the Advancement of Women 4 Whose Crops, At What Price? Agricultural investment in Myanmar OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development SFA State Forestry Administration of the Peoples Republic of China UNGPs United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights VFV Law Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land Management Law VGGT Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests VRG Vietnam Rubber Group Whose Crops, At What Price? Agricultural investment in Myanmar 5 SUMMARY After years of international isolation, Myanmar is liberalizing its economy and seeking to attract growing levels of foreign investment. Agriculture currently plays a crucial role in the countrys economy and more than 60 percent of the population depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. The Government of Myanmar (GoM) has acknowledged the need to support smallholders by improving access to credit and providing affordable fertilizers and seeds,1 but it has also made itclear that attracting foreign investment is crucial to achieving its goals for economic reform and reintegrating Myanmar into the global economy.2 This paper looks at the current level and types of agribusiness investment into Myanmar, outlines some of the potential risks to communities posed by these investments, and explores state regulation of outbound investments as a potential way to promote responsible business practices in the sector. The paper finds that while foreign investment can play an important role in developing Myanmars agriculture sector, in the current environment of limited transparency and accountability, an increase in agribusiness investments poses serious risks to the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and others dependent on land for their livelihoods. Although the agriculture sector accounts for a small percentage of overall investment into Myanmar, a very substantial amount of land has already been handed over to companies. As of April 2014, an area nearly 10 times the size of Hong Kong (939,683 hectares) had been granted to private businesses (both Myanmar and foreign) in the form of land concessions.3Agribusiness investments are often hidden in Myanmar. Official statistics on investments are unreliable due to over-reporting (of projects that are approved but not implemented) and under-reporting (of projects that do not go through the formal approval channels). In many cases, land concessions that have been granted to private businesses are not being cultivated, but are instead being used to enable mineral extraction or logging.4Some publicly available data do exist, but more information on agribusiness investments is required both from the GoM and from investing companies. Limited transparency creates blind spots in which corruption can flourish, and incoming investors risk worsening this situation if they do not act responsibly and publish investment details. As of December 2015, China, Singapore5 and Hong Kong (China) rank as the top three foreign investors into Myanmar. Thai, Malaysian, Korean and Vietnamese companies are also significant investors, and all have invested in agriculture projects in the country. Where land concessions and investments are being used for agriculture purposes, foreign businesses are investing in rubber and palm oil, with smaller investments into corn, sugarcane, biofuels, fruits and other crops. Some companies have obtained large tracts of land for plantations, while others are purchasing from small- and medium-scale local farmers through contract farming agreements or brokers. Both of these paths of investment large-scale land acquisitions and contract farming arrangements carry risks for smallholders and communities who rely on land. The granting of land for large-scale agriculture in Myanmar, as elsewhere in Southeast Asia, is frequently connected to land conflict and displacement and environmental degradation.6 Land dispossessionhas already reportedly occurred through Malaysian joint investments with the development of palm oil plantations in Tanintharyi.7Poor rural women are often disadvantaged with regards to land access and ownership, and therefore investment that affects the land use of local people has a disproportionate impact on 6 Whose Crops, At What Price? Agricultural investment in Myanmar women. Even in cases where investment generates employment, when those investments require large-scale land acquisition, the disadvantages may outweigh the benefits for local people in a context where land rights are unclear and insecure. The number of land and agricultural investments in Myanmar is highly likely to rise in the near future, from foreign and domestic companies alike. Thailand and China have guidelines and mechanisms in place to promote socially and environmentally responsible behaviour of outbound investments, although it is unclear to what extent these guidelines are being implemented. If investment in agribusiness is isolated from the broader development of Myanmars agriculture sector, the potential benefits will be limited. Simply approving large-scale investments will not automatically translate into benefits for small-scale farmers unless targeted policies are put in place that focus on increasing smallholders access to inputs, safe credit, training, markets and security of land tenure. This paper sets out recommendations that businesses and governments could consider following to ensure that agriculture investments into Myanmar are transparent and follow international best practice regarding due diligence, upholding human rights and providing redress to communities for violations. Recommendations to the Government of Myanmar Land concessions Cease granting large-scale concessions until the new National Land Use Policy is beingeffectively implemented and a Land Law is passed. The laws currently being used to grantconcessions are widely seen as failing to protect smallholders and ethnic groups. Until the newLand Law is passed, the GoM should suspend the granting of new concessions. Review the implementation of existing concessions. Existing concessions should bemonitored against their development plans and agreements with the government, and if thecompany has not met its obligations, concessions should be frozen, or revoked if seriousviolations have occurred. Ensure that decisions to grant additional land concessions in the future are based on athorough and responsible assessment of proposals. This must take into account existingland use, and no concession should be granted without a detailed assessment and mapping ofexisting land use rights. Ensure that all relevant stakeholders are consulted on concessions, including,crucially, potentially affected communities. No land use rights should be transferred frompre-existing land users without their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). Increase transparency and access to information regarding existing and futureinvestments related to land. The GoM should increase transparency in investment bymaking available reliable statistics, maps and other documents related to land-basedinvestments. This includes releasing details of the locations and boundaries of existing landconcessions. These data should be stored in an open database which includes project maps,names of investors, purpose of the project and status of implementation.8Support for small-scale farmers Reallocate the national budget to increase agricultural spending, particularly toimprove the quality and reach of extension services and inputs; this also meansresourcing local government to focus on farmer-identified challenges and solutions. Support the development of agricultural cooperatives and producer organizationsbased on an appropriate regulatory framework, and empower them to link to and work withthe local private sector.Whose Crops, At What Price? Agricultural investment in Myanmar 7 Provide scrutiny of investment proposals and monitoring of approved investments toensure that they protect smallholder interests. Use government bodies to provide support to farmers in the negotiation of contractfarming arrangements, and regulate and monitor ongoing contract farming agreements.Recommendations to foreign governments Recognize that, to be effective, the duty to protect must extend beyond nationalboundaries. The duty to protect against business-related abuses is not confined to a statesown territory. In cases where a companys overseas operations are causing harm, both hostand home states have a duty to act. Promote the adoption of international standards, principles and guidelines bycompanies investing overseas. Home governments should promote and encouragecompanies to implement international standards such as the UN Guiding Principles onBusiness and Human Rights (UNGPs), the OECD Guidelines to Multinational Enterprises andthe UNs Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheriesand Forests (VGGT).9 Governments across the region and regional institutions such as ASEAN shoulddevelop guidelines related to social and environmental safeguards in overseasinvestment. China has developed a number of guidelines for Chinese companies and financialinstitutions operating overseas. Although basic, they can serve as a foundation from which topromote improved conduct in overseas investment.Recommendations to businesses investing in or sourcing from Myanmar Ensure compliance with local laws and regulations and follow international standards,including the responsibility to respect human rights as set out in the UNGPs, and the VGGT.Businesses have the obligati
展开阅读全文