Legal Mobilization in Large-Scale Land Deals

Nomos

Legal Mobilization in Large-Scale Land DealsEvidence from Sierra Leone and the Philippines

Annette Schramm

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Evidence from Sierra Leone and the Philippines

Legal Mobilization in Large-Scale Land Deals

Nomos

Annette Schramm



The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de

a.t.: Tübingen, Univ., Diss., 2019 ISBN 978-3-8487-6703-8 (Print) 978-3-7489-0760-2 (ePDF)

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.ISBN 978-3-8487-6703-8 (Print) 978-3-7489-0760-2 (ePDF)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataSchramm, AnnetteLegal Mobilization in Large-Scale Land DealsEvidence from Sierra Leone and the PhilippinesAnnette Schramm294 pp.Includes bibliographic references.ISBN 978-3-8487-6703-8 (Print) 978-3-7489-0760-2 (ePDF)

1st Edition 2020 © Annette SchrammPublished by Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG Waldseestraße 3-5 | 76530 Baden-Baden www.nomos.deProduction of the printed version: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG Waldseestraße 3-5 | 76530 Baden-BadenPrinted and bound in Germany. ISBN (Print): 978-3-8487-6703-8 ISBN (ePDF): 978-3-7489-0760-2DOI: https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748907602

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The publication of the printed version and the Open Access-publication of the electronic version of this work were supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – Project-ID 170320015 – SFB 923.



Acknowledgements

This dissertation would have never been possible without the support ofmany people.

I want to first and foremost thank my interview partners in Sierra Leoneand the Philippines. They invested time and shared their experiences andviews with me. I want to thank them for their openness and trust. My fieldresearch would have never been possible without the help of my researchassistants, who organized travels, translated for me and opened me a doorto their society. Thank you Moses Kamara, Bintu Kanneh, Sarina Magdalesand Angel Panizales for your amazing support and company on this jour-ney.

Many thanks to my supervisor Prof. Andreas Hasenclever, who alwaysseemed to believe in me (even when I was not). Thank you to HendrikQuest, who supported me with great comments and advice on my workand always had my back. Special thanks have to go to Dr. Jan Sändig. Itwas the greatest pleasure to collaborate with him. I greatly profited fromhis experience and his input. I am also grateful for many other colleaguesfrom the Institute of Political Science and the IR Phd Colloquium. Theysupported this work with helpful ideas and inspiring discussions.

I would like to thank my colleagues from the Sonderforschungsbereich923 “Bedrohte Ordnungen”. Their different disciplinary backgroundopened up my limited political science view. I am especially grateful forProf. Jochen von Bernstorff and Markus Hasl who inspired me to take up alegal view. Working together in the research project “Local orders underthreat from land grabbing – Global civil society and international law ascurse or blessing?” was a great pleasure and greatly influenced this re-search. I am grateful for many other colleagues at the SFB 923, especiallythe lunch group. You helped me keep my mental sanity!

For the financial support that made this study and its publication possi-ble, I want to thank the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft).

Finally, I want to thank my many friends and my family who supportedme during this dissertation. It was not always an easy ride and it was agood feeling to know that you had my back. Thank you for the comfortingwords, coffee breaks, walks across the Österberg, phone calls and Saturdayevening dinners. I feel like you carried me over the finish line.

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Table of contents

List of figures 11

List of tables 13

Abbreviations 15

Introduction1. 17Research question and scope of the study1.1 19Research program and findings1.2 26Contributions to academic literature and policy debates1.3 28Outline of chapters1.4 31

Large-scale land deals: overview and debates2. 33

Foreign large-scale land deals in developing countries – anoverview

2.134

Global trends2.1.1 34Drivers2.1.2 37Consequences2.1.3 39

Global responses to foreign large-scale land deals2.2 41Human rights versus market-based approaches towardslarge-scale land deals

2.2.142

International instruments for regulating large-scale landdeals

2.2.245

Gaps in international regulation and the question of aright to land

2.2.353

Debate: How does the law help?2.3 55Theoretical arguments2.3.1 55Existing empirical research2.3.2 59

A multi-perspective framework on legal mobilization success3. 65Metatheoretical considerations3.1 65

Bounded rationality3.1.1 66

7


Configurational thinking3.1.2 69A bargaining lens towards company-community relations3.2 70

Background: bargaining theory3.2.1 71Local actors – TNC relationship: an interactive bargainingprocess

3.2.273

Three theoretical perspectives3.3 75Legal perspective3.3.1 76Social mobilization perspective3.3.2 80Business management perspective3.3.3 82

Explaining legal mobilization success3.4 85Bringing the three perspectives together3.4.1 86Conceptualization of core conditions3.4.2 88

Summary of the framework3.5 92

Research design4. 94Methods4.1 94

Evaluating the national legal opportunity structure4.1.1 95Causal process tracing4.1.2 97Case comparison4.1.3 99

Case selection4.2 100Choosing case countries4.2.1 100Choosing cases of large-scale land deals4.2.2 105

Empirical material4.3 107Field visits and interviews4.3.1 107NGO reports, media articles and additional documents4.3.2 109

Course of action of the analysis4.4 111

Analysis I Sierra Leone5. 113Large-scale land deals in Sierra Leone5.1 115

Current trends and agricultural background5.1.1 115Government policies to attract foreign investment inagriculture

5.1.2118

Civil society responses and network formation5.1.3 120National legal opportunity structure in Sierra Leone5.2 122

Existing land tenure system and central laws5.2.1 123

Table of contents

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Regulations regarding foreign land investments andgrievance mechanisms

5.2.2125

Evaluating the national legal opportunity structure5.2.3 128Case I: Addax Bioenergy – success through legal representation5.3 130

Overview of the investment of Addax Bioengery5.3.1 131Legal representation for the village of Masethleh5.3.2 134The Addax project: a poster child for responsibleinvestment

5.3.3138

The support network: SiLNoRF and Namati5.3.4 141Discussion and additional issues5.3.5 144

Case II: Socfin Sierra Leone – unsuccessful legal mobilization5.4 146Overview of the investment of Socfin AgriculturalCompany

5.4.1147

Calling on Sierra Leonean legal institutions – whose sideis the law on?

5.4.2151

Socfin, the chiefdom authorities and the Sierra Leoneanstate

5.4.3155

The support network: Green Scenery and FIAN Belgium5.4.4 160Discussion and additional issues5.4.5 163

Within country comparison and discussion of findings5.5 165Comparison between the cases of Addax Bioenergy andSocfin Sierra Leone

5.5.1165

Summary of findings from Sierra Leone5.5.2 169

Analysis II Philippines6. 172Large-scale land deals in the Philippines6.1 174

Current trends and agricultural background6.1.1 174Government policies to attract foreign investment inagriculture

6.1.2178

Civil society networks6.1.3 180National legal opportunity structure in the Philippines6.2 184

National land laws and tenure system6.2.1 185Rules and regulations regarding foreign large-scale landdeals

6.2.2188

Evaluating the national legal opportunity structure6.2.3 191

Table of contents

9


Case III: Green Future Innovations – success throughcombining strategies

6.3193

Overview of the investment of Green Future InnovationsInc.

6.3.1193

Escalating mobilization efforts from below and above6.3.2 197The company: complications of a joint venture business6.3.3 201Support network: the radical left6.3.4 203Discussion and additional issues6.3.5 205

Case IV: Agumil Philippines: Uninformed consent and thedifficult struggle of local cooperatives

6.4207

Overview of the investment of Agumil Philippines, Inc.6.4.1 208The failure of institutional mechanisms and subsequentlegal mobilization attempts by cooperatives

6.4.2213

Agumil and the Land Bank6.4.3 219Fragmented support and missing internal mobilization6.4.4 223Discussion and additional issues6.4.5 226

Within country comparison and discussion6.5 229Comparison of Green Future Innovations and Agumil6.5.1 229Summary of findings from the Philippines6.5.3 234

Discussion7. 237Comparing Sierra Leone and the Philippines7.1 237An extended framework of legal mobilization success in large-scale land deals

7.2242

Conclusion8. 247Summary8.1 247Limitations and future research desiderata8.2 249Implications of my findings for regulating large-scale land deals8.3 255

Appendix: list of interviews 259

Publication bibliography 265

Table of contents

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List of figures

Figure 1 Basic bargaining situation 71

Figure 2 The research question 75

Figure 3 Stakeholder salience model following Ali (2017: 163) 83

Figure 4 Three theoretical perspectives 86

Figure 5 Map of Sierra Leone (with districts) 114

Figure 6 Map of the Philippines (Cutout) 173

Figure 7 Extended bargaining model 246

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List of tables

Table 1 Human rights vs. market-based approach to land 44

Table 2 International instruments regulating large-scale landinvestments 51

Table 3 Conceptualization of the legal opportunity structure 79

Table 4 Conceptualization of core conditions 91

Table 5 Collective optimum for the national legalopportunity structure 97

Table 6 Possible case study countries 101

Table 7 Rule of law in the Philippines and Sierra Leone 102

Table 8 Poverty and Agriculture in the Philippines and SierraLeone 103

Table 9 Selected cases of large-scale land deals 107

Table 10 Documents used for the analysis 110

Table 11 No. of intended/concluded deals in Sierra Leone 116

Table 12 Overview of police incidences in Malen Chiefdomrelated to the investment 152

Table 13 Empirical truth table Sierra Leone 170

Table 14 No. of intended/concluded land deals in thePhilippines 175

Table 15 Tenure arrangements of Philippine farmland 186

Table 16 Empirical truth table Philippines 235

13


Table 17 Empirical truth table of core conditions 242

Table 18 Empirical truth table of all conditions 245

List of tables

14


Abbreviations

AA Acknowledgement AgreementAfDB African Development BankAGPI Agumil Philippine Inc.ALDAW Ancestral Land/Domain WatchALLAT Action for Large Scale Land Acquisition TransparencyANGOC Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural

DevelopmentARB Agrarian Reform BeneficiaryAVA Agribusiness Venture AgreementCARP Comprehensive Agricultural Reform ProgrammCDA Cooperatives Development AgencyCFS Committee on World Food SecurityCFS-PRAI The Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture

and Food SystemsCSO Civil Society OrganizationCSR Corporate Social ResponsibilityDA Department of AgricultureDAGAMI Danggayan Dagiti Mannalon ti IsabelaDAR Department of Agrarian ReformDENR Department of Environment and Natural ResourcesDFI Development Financial InstitutionECOWAS Economic Community of West African StatesEPA Environment Protection AgencyESHIA Environmental, Social and Health Impact AssessmentFAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United NationsFBB Fresh Fruit BunchesFIAN FoodFirst Information and Action NetworkFPIC Free, Prior and Informed ConsentGDP Gross-domestic ProductGFII Green Future Innovations IncorporatedHRCSL Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone

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IFAD International Fund for Agricultural DevelopmentIFC International Financial CorporationKMP Kilusang Magbubukid ng PilipinasLGU Local Government UnitMAFFS Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food SecurityMALOA Malen Land Owners and Users AssociationMSA Management Service AgreementNGO Non-Governmental OgranisationNLOS National legal opportunity structureNPA New People’s ArmyNSADP National Sustainable Agriculture Development PlanPADCC Philippine Agricultural Development and Commercial

CorporationPC Paramount ChiefPCA Philippine Coconut AuthorityPCSD Palawan Council for Sustainable DevelopmentPHP Philippine PesosPRSP Poverty Reduction and Strategy PaperPTMA Production Technical and Marketing AgreementPTMA Production Technical and Marketing AgreementQCA Qualitative Comparative AnalysisREC Receptivity of the companyRSB Roundtable on Sustainable BiofuelsRSPO Roundtable on Sustainable Palm OilSiLNoRF Sierra Leone Network of the Right to FoodSLIEPA Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion AgencyTNC Transnational CorporationUN United NationsUNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and DevelopmentUNDROP United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and

Other People Working in Rural AreasVGGT Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of

TenureWB PRAI Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment that

Respects Rights, Livelihoods and Resources

Abbreviations

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Legal Mobilization in Large-Scale Land Deals

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