Commercial Pressures on Land This report is part of a wider initiative on Commercial Pressures on Land (CPL). If you would like further information on the initiative and on the collaborating partners, please contact the Secretariat of the International Land Coalition or visit www.landcoalition.org/cpl International Land Coalition Secretariat Via Paolo di Dono, 44 fax: +39 06 5459 3628 The process of land 00142 – Rome, Italy [email protected] tel: +39 06 5459 2445 www.landcoalition.org concentration in Peru Our Mission A global alliance of civil society and intergovernmental organisations working together to promote secure and equitable access to and control over land for poor women and men through advocacy, dialogue, knowledge sharing and capacity building. Our Vision Secure and equitable access to and control over land reduces poverty and contributes to identity, dignity and inclusion. CIRAD works with the whole range of developing countries to generate and pass on new knowledge, support agricultural development and fuel the debate on the main global issues concerning agriculture. CIRAD is a targeted research organization, and bases its operations on development needs, from field to laboratory and from a local to a global scale. The Centro Peruano de Estudios Sociales (CEPES) was created in 1976 as an institution specialized in rural development, focussed on offering its professional contribution to the task of improving the living conditions of rural women and men of Peru, with the perspective of contributing to a more democratic and just society. After more than three decades, CEPES still maintains its original objectives. CEPES looks for the inclusion of small farmers and peasant communities (campesinos) in national processes of modernization and democratization, with a broad political commitment to fostering national development in a democratic, decentralized and equitable way. Cover illustration: © Aldo di Domenico 2011 The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author, and can in no way be taken to reflect the offcial views of the International Land Coalition, its members or donors. ISBN 978-92-95093-26-3 © 2011 the International Land Coalition The process of land concentration in Peru Prepared by: Zulema Burneo January 2011 Acknowledgements The research project of the Commercial Pressures on Land Initiative was coordinated in the ILC secretariat by Michael Taylor, with the support of Andrea Fiorenza. Ward Anseeuw of CIRAD provided technical support to all studies and the project was based on a conceptual framework developed by Michel Merlet and Clara Jamart of Agter. A large number of members and partners of ILC and independent specialists have contributed to the research, analysis and documentation of the project. ILC wishes to thank the following donors, whose support made possible the research under the Commercial Pressures on Land Initiative: The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of these donors. ILC Secretariat would appreciate receiving copies of any publication using this study as a source at [email protected]. Foreword The International Land Coalition (ILC) was established by civil society and multilateral organisations who were convinced that secure access to land and natural resources is central to the ability of women and men to get out of, and stay out of, hunger and poverty. In 2008, at the same time as the food price crisis pushed the number of hungry over the one billion mark, members of ILC launched a global research project to better understand the implications of the growing wave of international large-scale investments in land. Small-scale producers have always faced competition for the land on which their livelihoods depend. It is evident, however, that changes in demand for food, energy and natural resources, alongside liberalisation of trade regimes, are making the competition for land increasingly global and increasingly unequal. Starting with a scoping study by ILC member Agter, the Commercial Pressures on Land research project has brought together more than 30 partners, ranging from NGOs in affected regions whose perspectives and voices are closest to most affected land users, to international research institutes whose contribution provides a global analysis on selected key themes. The study process enabled organisations with little previous experience in undertaking such research projects, but with much to contribute, to participate in the global study and have their voices heard. Support to the planning and writing of each study was provided by ILC member CIRAD. ILC believes that in an era of increasingly globalised land use and governance, it is more important than ever that the voices and interests of all stakeholders – and in particular local land users - are represented in the search for solutions to achieve equitable and secure access to land. This report is one of the 28 being published as a part of the global study. The full list of studies, and information on other initiatives by ILC relating to Commercial Pressures on Land, is available for download on the International Land Coalition website at www.landcoalition.org/cplstudies. I extend my thanks to all organisations that have been a part of this unique research project. We will continue to work for opportunities for these studies, and the diverse perspectives they represent, to contribute to informed decision-making. The implications of choices on how land and natural resources should be used, and for whom, are stark. In an increasingly resource-constrained and polarised world, choices made today on land tenure and ownership will shape the economies, societies and opportunities of tomor- row’s generations, and thus need to be carefully considered. Madiodio Niasse Director, International Land Coalition Secretariat Table of contents Acknowledgements Foreword Table of contents List of graphs, tables, and boxes Abbreviations Executive summary 1 The path to land concentration 1 From agrarian reform to small-scale agriculture 2 The 1993 Constitution and the declaration of liberalism 5 The lack of legal controls during the past decade 7 2 The current status of land concentration 11 Land concentration for agricultural purposes 12 Land concentration for biofuels production purposes 20 Land concentration for the purposes of mineral and hydrocarbon exploitation 29 Land concentration for forest exploitation purposes 33 3 Three cases of land concentration on the Peruvian coast 36 The study zones 37 From agrarian reform to small-scale agriculture 41 Polarization of land tenure and ownership 43 The paths to land concentration 50 Effects of the concentration process 56 Final thoughts 64 Bibliography 70 Annexes 73 List of graphs, tables, and boxes Graphs Peru – approximation of land concentration by region, June 2009 12 Location of the case study zones 38 Ica Valley – 10 of the largest agro-exporting companies 46 Tables Peru – agricultural units and their surface area, 1994 3 Peru – principal irrigation projects 13 The Chavimochic project – largest plot buyers, 1994–2006 14 Piura and Ica – land acquisition through purchase, 2009 17 Peru – privatization of agro-industrial sugar companies, 1996– 2009 19 Peru – coastal-based sugarcane and piñon tree ethanol production projects 23 Peru – forest-based palm oil production projects for biodiesel 28 Peru – transnational mining companies, 2000 29 Peru – mining concession areas and poverty levels by department (%) 30 Peru – hydrocarbon concessions, 2009 31 Peru – forest concession areas by department, 2008 33 Chira Valley – agricultural characteristics 39 Motupe Valley – agricultural characteristics 40 Ica Valley – agricultural characteristics 40 Land concentration prior to the 1969 agrarian reform 41 Study zones – agricultural units according to size, by department, 1994 42 Chira Valley – large-scale owners 46 The Chira and Motupe Valleys – agricultural units smaller than 10 hectares 49 Boxes A new law on indigenous peoples’ right to prior consultation? 10 Conflict – the Romero group, biofuels, and deforestation 26 Between native population and concession – the case of the indigenous community of Puerto Azul 35 Abbreviations AAA Association of Farmers with Groundwater of Lambayeque AFP Pension Funds Administrator AGRORURAL Rural Agrarian Productive Development ATDR Technical Administration of Irrigation Districts BCRP Central Reserve Bank of Peru BHP Broken Hill Proprietary CAP Agrarian Production Cooperatives CAU Agrarian User Cooperatives CENAGRO National Agricultural Census CEPES Peruvian Social Studies Center CEPIBO Piura Central Office of Organic Banana Producers COFOPRI Organ for the Formalization of Informal Ownership COMISA Miraflores Corporation, S.A. CONFIEP National Confederation of Private Business Institutions CRASVI Commission of Groundwater Irrigators in the Ica Valley CRAV Commission for Agrarian Reform and Housing D. L. Legislative Decree DRA Regional Agrarian Directorate DRASAM San Martín Regional Agricultural Directorate D. S. Supreme Decree EFASAC El Aguajal Forest Company FAO United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization FMP Forest Management Plan FTA Free trade agreement GDP Gross domestic product IDB Inter-American Development Bank IIAP Institute for Research on the Peruvian Amazon ILC International Land Coalition ILO International Labor Organization INEI National Institute of Statistics and Information INRENA National Institute of Natural Resources IOP Institute of Physics JNUDRP National Board of Users of