Guidelines for sustainable large-scale land deals in Africa


Book Description

Over the last few years, agribusinesses, investment funds and government agencies have demonstrated a growing interest in acquiring large portions of land, mostly in developing countries and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In the host countries, investors and government see these acquisitions as opportunities to attract foreign investment that will enhance food and energy security and stimulate socio-economic development. Analysing a number of these deals in Africa suggests that these objectives are usually not attained and that their sustainability appears to be uncertain.




Land Deals in Africa


Book Description

"This report was prepared for 'Legal tools for citizen empowerment, ' a programme steered by the International Institute for Environment and Development"--Page iii.







Land and Sustainable Development in Africa


Book Description

This book links contemporary debates on land reform with wider discourses on sustainable development within Africa. Featuring chapters and in-depth case studies on South Africa and Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Botswana and West Africa, it traces the development of ideas about sustainable development and addresses a new agenda based on social justice. The authors critically examine contemporary neoliberal market-led reforms and the legacy of colonialism on the land question. They argue that debates on sustainable development should be placed in the context of structural interests, access and equity, rather than technical management of land and resources. Additionally, they show that these structural factors cannot be transformed by institutional reform based on notions of elective democracy, community participation, and market-reform, but require a far more radical programme to redress the injustices of the colonial system that continue today. The book advocates a commitment to building sustainable livelihoods for farmers, calling for a redistribution of land and natural resources to challenge existing economic relations and frameworks for development.




Biofuels, Land Grabbing and Food Security in Africa


Book Description

The issue of biofuels has already been much debated, but the focus to date has largely been on Latin America and deforestation - this highly original work breaks fresh ground in looking at the African perspective. Most African governments see biofuels as having the potential to increase agricultural productivity and export incomes and thus strengthen their national economies, improving energy balances and rural employment. At the same time climate change may be addressed through reduction of green house gas emissions. There are, however, a number of uncertainties mounting that challenge this scenario. Using cutting-edge empirical case studies, this knowledge gap is addressed in a variety of chapters examining the effects of large-scale biofuel production on African agriculture. In particular, 'land grabbing' and food security issues are scrutinised, both of which have become vital topics in regard to the environmental and developmental governance of African countries. A revealing book for anyone wishing to understand the startling impact of biofuels and land grabbing on Africa.




Large-Scale Land Acquisitions


Book Description

Large-scale land acquisitions, or 'land grabbing', has become a key research topic among scholars interested in agrarian change, development, and the environment. The term 'land acquisitions' refers to a highly contested process in terms of governance and impacts on livelihoods and human rights. Focusing on South-East Asia, this book presents a series of thematic papers and detailed case studies to put this phenomenon into specific historical and institutional contexts.




Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization: A Framework for Africa


Book Description

This framework presents ten interrelated principles/elements to guide Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (SAMA). Further, it presents the technical issues to be considered under SAMA and the options to be analysed at the country and sub regional levels. The ten key elements required in a framework for SAMA are as follows: The analysis in the framework calls for a specific approach, involving learning from other parts of the world where significant transformation of the agricultural mechanization sector has already occurred within a three-to-four decade time frame, and developing policies and programmes to realize Africa’s aspirations of Zero Hunger by 2025. This approach entails the identification and prioritization of relevant and interrelated elements to help countries develop strategies and practical development plans that create synergies in line with their agricultural transformation plans. Given the unique characteristics of each country and the diverse needs of Africa due to the ecological heterogeneity and the wide range of farm sizes, the framework avoids being prescriptive.




What Drives the Global Land Rush?


Book Description

This paper studies the determinants of foreign land acquisition for large-scale agriculture. To do so, gravity models are estimated using data on bilateral investment relationships, together with newly constructed indicators of agro-ecological suitability in areas with low population density as well as indicators of land rights security. Results confirm the central role of agro-ecological potential as a pull factor. In contrast to the literature on foreign investment in general, the quality of the business climate is insignificant whereas weak land governance and tenure security for current users make countries more attractive for investors. Implications for policy are discussed.




Governing large-scale farmland investments in sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and ways forward


Book Description

Large-scale farmland investments in sub-Saharan Africa have to date produced a striking uniformity of largely negative local socioeconomic and environmental outcomes, raising questions about their contribution to sustainable development. This study attributes these outcomes to eight interrelated factors, namely, (1) deficiencies in the law, (2) elite capture, (3) conflicts of interest, (4) capacity constraints, (5) high modernist ideologies, (6) limited contestation, (7) incompatibility of production systems, and (8) misalignment of corporate accountability. Considering the important role of poor implementation and enforcement in shaping outcomes, greater emphasis should be placed on institutional rather than legal reform in host countries. Institutional conditions relating to (1) mandate, (2) capacity, (3) incentives, and (4) accountability need to be fulfilled. Findings also highlight the importance of balanced cross-sectoral reform, risks associated with decentralization, and the need to exercise greater caution when adopting free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) principles. This Info Brief concludes with a number of concrete recommendations for policy makers.




Restoration in Action Against Desertification


Book Description

This publication supports processes related to rural communities’ resilience in implementing land restoration of the Great Green Wall Programme on the ground. It serves a dual purpose of consolidating biophysical operations and socio-economic assessments, and is mainly built on five-year interventions and practical experiences gathered through Action Against Desertification. The first part of the publication is a practical manual expressly created for stakeholders, partners, non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations. Its purpose is to guide the implementation of restoration operations at scale on the ground, as well as to provide detailed practical instructions based on the successful results obtained by Action Against Desertification. The manual describes how to implement an innovative approach to the large-scale restoration of degraded land for small-scale farming. This innovative approach consists of combining enrichment planting of native woody and fodder grass species and the preparation of large-scale land for rainwater harvesting and soil permeability. The second part of the manual introduces a methodology for socio-economic assessments. This easy to-to-use approach is based on household surveys and can be used by socio-economic experts to monitor, evaluate and assess the socio-economic impacts of the large-scale restoration interventions. Household surveys are not only used for impact assessment but can potentially serve to collect useful data needed to plan a restoration intervention. Quantitative information is collected through carefully chosen standardized questions to households as samples.