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Investor ownership or social investment? Changing farmland ownership in Saskatchewan, Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Annette Aurélie Desmarais

    (University of Manitoba)

  • Darrin Qualman
  • André Magnan

    (University of Regina)

  • Nettie Wiebe

    (University of Saskatchewan)

Abstract

There is growing recognition that land grabbing is a global phenomenon. In Canada, investors are particularly interested in Saskatchewan farmland, the province where 40 % of country’s agricultural land is situated. This article examines how the changing political, economic, and legal context under neoliberalism has shaped patterns of farmland ownership in Saskatchewan, between 2002 and 2014. Our research indicates that over this time, the amount of farmland owned by investors increased 16-fold. Also, the concentration of farmland ownership is on the rise, with the share of farmland owned by the largest four private owners increasing six-fold. Our methodology addresses some of the criticisms raised in the land grabbing literature. By using land titles data, we identified farmland investors and determined very precisely their landholdings thus allowing us to provide a fine-grained analysis of the actual patterns of farmland ownership. Although the article analyzes changes to farmland ownership in a specific historical, cultural and legislative context, it serves as the basis for a broader discussion of the values and priorities that land ownership policies reflect. Namely, we contrast an ‘open for business’ approach that prioritizes financial investment to one based on a land sovereignty approach that prioritizes social investment. The latter has greater potential if the aim is ecological sustainability and food sovereignty.

Suggested Citation

  • Annette Aurélie Desmarais & Darrin Qualman & André Magnan & Nettie Wiebe, 2017. "Investor ownership or social investment? Changing farmland ownership in Saskatchewan, Canada," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(1), pages 149-166, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:34:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s10460-016-9704-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-016-9704-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Shon Ferguson & Hartley Furtan & Jared Carlberg, 2006. "The political economy of farmland ownership regulations and land prices," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 35(1), pages 59-65, July.
    2. Marc Edelman & Carlos Oya & Saturnino M Borras, 2013. "Global Land Grabs: historical processes, theoretical and methodological implications and current trajectories," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(9), pages 1517-1531, October.
    3. Saturnino M. Borras & Jennifer C. Franco & Sofía Monsalve Suárez, 2015. "Land and food sovereignty," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 600-617, March.
    4. David Burch & Geoffrey Lawrence, 2013. "Financialization in agri-food supply chains: private equity and the transformation of the retail sector," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(2), pages 247-258, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lars Isenhardt & Stefan Seifert & Silke Hüttel, 2023. "Tenant Favoritism and Right of First Refusals in Farmland Auctions: Competition and Price Effects," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 99(2), pages 302-324.
    2. Maximilian Humpesch & Stefan Seifert & Alfons Balmann & Silke Hüttel, 2022. "How does tenancy affect farmland prices? Effects of lease status, lease term and buyer type," Agricultural Finance Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 83(2), pages 242-263, September.
    3. Jennifer Clapp & S. Ryan Isakson, 2018. "Risky Returns: The Implications of Financialization in the Food System," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 49(2), pages 437-460, March.
    4. Seifert, Stefan & Hüttel, Silke & Werwatz, Axel, 2023. "Organic cultivation and farmland prices: Does certification matter?," FORLand Working Papers 28 (2023), Humboldt University Berlin, DFG Research Unit 2569 FORLand "Agricultural Land Markets – Efficiency and Regulation".
    5. Megan Horst, 2019. "Changes in Farmland Ownership in Oregon, USA," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-22, February.
    6. Borras, Saturnino M. & Franco, Jennifer C. & Moreda, Tsegaye & Xu, Yunan & Bruna, Natacha & Afewerk Demena, Binyam, 2022. "The value of so-called ‘failed’ large-scale land acquisitions," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    7. André Magnan & Melissa Davidson & Annette Aurélie Desmarais, 2023. "‘They call it progress, but we don’t see it as progress’: farm consolidation and land concentration in Saskatchewan, Canada," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 277-290, March.
    8. Frantz Gheller, 2018. "Governing large-scale farmland acquisitions in Québec: the conventional family farm model questioned," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(3), pages 623-636, September.
    9. Irena Knezevic & Alison Blay-Palmer & Courtney Jane Clause, 2023. "Recalibrating Data on Farm Productivity: Why We Need Small Farms for Food Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-12, October.

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