Cultural Diversity

The legal literature on the BRICS countries in English language is scarce and mostly focuses on the national legal systems with limited comparative element. On that point the teaching needs of the course coincided with our research interests and in 2017 we completed an edited volume The BRICS-Lawyers’ Guide to Global Cooperation published by Cambridge University Press.

This commentary considers the access to food component of the draft UNIDROIT/FAO/IFAD Legal Guide on Agricultural Land Investment Contracts (Guide) and voices its silence on intellectual property rights (IPRs). In the past decade, foreign investors have increased the number of investments in the long-term lease of arable land, especially in Africa, and in the Global South, generally. The reasons for the choice of these locations include the availability of large portions of inexpensive agricultural land, inexpensive local labour and favourable climatic conditions for crop production. The Guide proposes more responsible investments in agriculture from public and private sector investors as a way to achieve, inter alia ‘No Poverty’ and ‘Zero Hunger’ (Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2).