Foreign pension funds and land grabbing in Brazil
▻https://www.grain.org/article/entries/5336-foreign-pension-funds-and-land-grabbing-in-brazil
Swedish, US and Canadian pension funds have acquired farmlands in Brazil by way of a Brazilian businessman accused of using violence and fraud to displace small farmers. These pension funds are also using complex company structures that have the effect of evading Brazilian laws restricting foreign investments in farmland.
The pension funds have been investing in Brazil through a global farmland fund called TIAA-CREF Global Agriculture LLC (TCGA). The fund is managed by the US-based Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF). Those investing in the fund include TIAA-CREF, the Second Swedish National Pension Fund (AP2) and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDP) and the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC) of Canada.
These pension funds have refused to disclose detailed information about the farmlands acquired by TCGA, saying that this is “competitive information.” They maintain, however, that their investments are in full compliance with the Principles of Responsible Investment in Farmland, which were co-founded by TIAA-CREF and AP2 (See Box 1: TCGA’s principles for “responsible” farmland investment).