Land concentration threatens the right to food: new report by UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food
The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, has submitted a new report to the Human Rights Council highlighting how growing land concentration and commodification of natural resources are undermining the realisation of the right to food worldwide.
The report, which will be discussed during the 61st session of the Human Rights Council (23 February – 2 April 2026), stresses that land, water, and territory are not merely economic assets but essential foundations for life, dignity, and food systems. Treating land primarily as an object of investment and speculation, the Rapporteur warns, has led to widespread dispossession of rural communities, small-scale farmers, Indigenous Peoples, and other marginalised groups.
According to the report, national laws, trade policies, and international investment frameworks have facilitated land grabbing and excessive concentration of ownership, contributing to inequality, environmental degradation, and food insecurity. Today, a small number of transnational actors control a disproportionate share of agricultural land, while millions of people face barriers to accessing the land necessary for their livelihoods and nutrition.
The Special Rapporteur emphasizes that the right to food cannot be realized without secure and equitable access to land and territory. He calls on States to move beyond narrow concepts of private property and to recognize diverse tenure systems, including collective, customary, and Indigenous land rights, in line with international human rights standards.
The report also underlines the links between land governance, climate change, desertification, and biodiversity loss, urging States to adopt rights-based land and agrarian reforms, support agroecological food systems, and ensure meaningful participation of affected communities in land-related decision-making.
Furthermore, the report states that governments, international institutions, and businesses are increasingly turning to digital technologies to modernize land administration, aiming to improve transparency, efficiency and protection against fraud. Tools such as GPS mapping, drones, digital land registries and online transaction platforms are reshaping how land is managed and governed. While experiences in countries like Brazil, India, and Rwanda show potential benefits for land governance, these processes also carry significant risks. Largely disconnected from human rights frameworks, land digitalization has so far tended to reinforce—and in some cases deepen—existing inequalities and exclusion.
In its conclusions, the report invites Member States and international institutions to place the right to land and territory at the centre of future policy debates, including in preparation for the Second International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, as a necessary step toward eradicating hunger and advancing social and environmental justice.