Nouveaux acteurs, nouveaux produits et expansion du marché foncier dans le nord du Pérou

Abstract

The diversity in land market trends in three case studies on the northern coast of Peru poses questions on the interaction of locale geographical factors (situation, agrarian structure, etc.) and national policies. In one case we observe the acquisition of land by agro-industrial firms which develop new crops for exportation and wish to ensure independently that the product satisfies international market requirements. In the other cases, however, the absence of new farm products, or even of new actors, does not necessarily cause a low level of activity on the land-property market, and producers of rice, sugar cane and coffee also try to enlarge their plantations. The key to this diversity is the variable quantity of collectively-owned unexploited pieces of land and their accessibility for potential investors. The latter depends on physical or spatial characteristics (the proximity of roads, climate, etc.) but also on the pre-existing status of property, the result of complex agrarian histories which are more or less easily modifiable according to the liberal legislation of the 1990s. All in all, these well-differentiated territories react in varied ways to the new economic and legal context. © Armand Colin.