Global production of soybeans and palm oil has increased enormously in the tropics over the last two decades. The Tropical Oil Crop Revolution provides a broad synthesis of the major supply and demand drivers in their production; their economic, social, and environmental impacts; and the future outlook to 2050. The planting of these crops is controversial because they are often sown on formerly forested or savanna lands, rely on large farmers and agribusiness rather than smallhold...

This book not only highlights the risks associated with large-scale investment, but also advises on how governments can create an environment to attract investment that contributes to broad-based growth and poverty reduction in cases where land acquisition by large investors makes sense from a social, economic, and environmental perspective.

This book aims to provide key pieces of information needed for informed debate about large-scale land acquisition by drawing on the experience from past land expansions discussing predictions for potential future demand and providing empirical evidence of what is happening on the ground in the countries most affected by the recent increase in demand for land. It complements demand side considerations with a detailed assessment of the amount of land whether currently cultivated or not that mig...