african bioenergy and biofuels business assessment opinion on rai principles, presented by bo...

Responsible agricultural investments in developing countries

Swedish FAO Committee25 March 2014

Bo Göransson

ABBBAAfrican Bioenergy and

Biofuels Business Assessment

• Starting point: Investments are needed.

”How”, not ”if”• Trees and forests: Utilize, develop, prevent.

Stoves, cars, game corridors, waste• 3 years. Small and with no money.

Matchmakers (we thought…..)

What is out there?

• Money, both international and local• Ideas and needs• Demand : Growth, urbanization• Policies, guidelines: IFC, FAO etc• Also ABBBA. ”Stolen with pride”. More feasibility

than assessments.

But…….

• Money is not used. Not ”bankable”• Big business “self contained”.• Forest industry shell shocked. • The small are -just small.• Banks risk averse • CAP + RED = Inv/Trade barriers. True? • Different standards for different crops?

Policies for investments. The same song sheet, but…

• Who cares or owns? Investors, NGOs, FAO, media, countries, people?

• Individual ownership/tenure or stronger ownership of communal land?

• Sanctions. Case of Ethiopia• Transparency. Case of Gambella. Role of Banks, IFI,s

donors, NGOs, media.• Sweden in the 19th century: Farmers robbed. Laws,

farmers org., surveyors

Frankly

• It is about power, stupid

Quo vadis?

• Level the playing field for investments - remove trade barriers

• Main actors must act. Role of pension funds, Swedfund, Business Sweden?

• New instruments or directives. Guarantees? • The big and the small must act together

and…….• ……..be local and persistent• ABBBA: Matchmaker or midwife?

Finally.

Do not use the phrase “land grab”!