Foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries has grown in importance in recent years, with increasing attention being paid to the potential impacts on agricultural development and food security for the developing world. In May, the FAO Committee on World Food Security endorsed the establishment of global guidelines on land tenure and access to natural resources, addressing the issue of “land-grabbing”. However, while such efforts mark growing global attention to FDI, strong data and research on this subject are still lacking.

The African Growth and Development Policy (AGRODEP) Modeling Consortium aims to address this gap in research with its first annual call for competitive grant proposals. The topic of this year’s grant is Foreign Direct Investment in Land (FDI), Land Markets and Land Institutions, and Development of the Agricultural Sector in Africa.

The size of each proposal may range from $US10, 000 to $US15, 000, depending on the quality of research and the potential for innovation that it exhibits. Researchers or research organizations both within or outside of Africa are encouraged to apply. All proposals must be submitted to info-agrodep@agrodep.org by Monday, July 16, 2012. Winning proposals will be selected by Friday, August 31, 2012; the duration of the project is expected to be one year from September 17, 2012 through September 16, 2013.