The Governance of Large-scale Farmland Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Governance of Large-scale Farmland Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa PDF Author: George Christoffel Schoneveld
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789059727908
Category : Agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
"Growing global resource scarcities and increasingly unstable commodity markets have in recent years propelled large numbers of investors to seek access to the cheap and fertile farmlands of sub-Saharan Africa. Though potentially providing its often neglected agricultural sector with much-needed investment capital, with many of these investments threatening to deprive the rural poor of vital livelihood resources and contribute to environment degradation, these investments have become a topic of heated debate in the public, political, and academic arenas. Amidst a rapidly growing body of research on particularly trends and outcomes, The Governance of Large-Scale Farmland Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa examines a critically under researched aspect of this trend, namely, host country governance. With an absence of sufficiently comprehensive international regulatory frameworks, the investment governance burden often falls solely on host country governments, which in the African context are typically ill-equipped or disinclined to provide adequate oversight"--Publisher description.

The Governance of Large-scale Farmland Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Governance of Large-scale Farmland Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa PDF Author: George Christoffel Schoneveld
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789059727908
Category : Agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 301

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Growing global resource scarcities and increasingly unstable commodity markets have in recent years propelled large numbers of investors to seek access to the cheap and fertile farmlands of sub-Saharan Africa. Though potentially providing its often neglected agricultural sector with much-needed investment capital, with many of these investments threatening to deprive the rural poor of vital livelihood resources and contribute to environment degradation, these investments have become a topic of heated debate in the public, political, and academic arenas. Amidst a rapidly growing body of research on particularly trends and outcomes, The Governance of Large-Scale Farmland Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa examines a critically under researched aspect of this trend, namely, host country governance. With an absence of sufficiently comprehensive international regulatory frameworks, the investment governance burden often falls solely on host country governments, which in the African context are typically ill-equipped or disinclined to provide adequate oversight"--Publisher description.

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

Governing large-scale farmland investments in sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and ways forward PDF Author: George C. Schoneveld
Publisher: CIFOR
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 8

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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.

Securing Africa's Land for Shared Prosperity

Securing Africa's Land for Shared Prosperity PDF Author: Frank F. K. Byamugisha
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821398105
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
This is the first book on land administration and reform in Sub-Saharan Africa, and is highly relevant to all developing countries around the world. It provides simple practical steps to turn the hugely controversial subject of "land grabs� into a development opportunity by improving land governance to reduce the risks of dispossessing poor landholders while ensuring mutually beneficial investors’ deals. The book shows how Sub Saharan Africa can leverage its abundant and highly valuable natural resources to eradicate poverty by improving land governance through a ten point program to scale up policy reforms and investments at a cost of USD 4.5 billion. The book points out formidable challenges to implementation including high vulnerability to land grabbing and expropriation with poor compensation as about 90 percent of rural lands in Sub Saharan Africa are undocumented, but also timely opportunities since high commodity prices and investor interest in large scale agriculture have increased land values and returns to investing in land administration. It argues that success in implementation will require participation of many players including Pan-African organizations, Sub Saharan Africa governments, the private sector, civil society and development partners; but that ultimate success will depend on the political will of Sub Saharan Africa governments to move forward with comprehensive policy reforms and on concerted support by the international development community. Its rigorous analysis of land governance issues, yet down-to-earth solutions, are a reflection of Byamugisha's more than 20 years of global experience in land reform and administration especially in Asia and Africa. This volume will be of great interest to and relevant for a wide audience interested in African development, global studies in land, and natural resource management.

Land Grab Or Development Opportunity?

Land Grab Or Development Opportunity? PDF Author: Lorenzo Cotula
Publisher: IIED
ISBN: 1843697416
Category : Eminent domain
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description


Land Grabbing in Africa

Land Grabbing in Africa PDF Author: Fassil Demissie
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317543386
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
The sign that ‘Africa is on Sale’ has been appearing with regular frequency in major newspaper accounts across the world, indicating that large amounts/expanses of Africa’s rich farmlands are being sold to transnational investors, usually on long-term leases, at a rate not seen in decades – indeed not since the colonial period. Transnational and national economic actors from various business sectors (oil and auto, mining and forestry, food and chemical, bioenergy, etc.) are eagerly acquiring, or declaring their intention to acquire large areas of land on which to build, maintain or extend large-scale extractive and agro-industrial enterprises to help secure their own food and energy needs into the future. This book provides a critical appraisal of the growing phenomenon of land grabbing in Africa. Far from being a technical issue associated "good governance", the problem of land grabbing by transnational corporation and states is a serious threat for the food security of millions of Africans and is undoubtedly one of the great challenges of our time for development on the continent. The case studies illustrate that African states are also complicit in the massive land grabbing by actively participating in isolated development while excluding the local communities. The case studies reveal key features that characterize how the global land grab plays out in specific localities in Africa. This book was published as a special issue of African Identities.

Contemporary processes of largescale land acquisition by investors: Case studies from sub-Saharan Africa

Contemporary processes of largescale land acquisition by investors: Case studies from sub-Saharan Africa PDF Author: Laura German
Publisher: CIFOR
ISBN: 6028693642
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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Book Description
Rapid growth of emerging economies, emerging interest in biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels and recent volatility in commodity prices have led to a marked increase in the pace and scale of foreign and domestic investment in landbased enterprises in the global South. Emerging evidence of the negative social and environmental effects of these large-scale land transfers and growing concern from civil society have placed ‘global land grabs’ firmly on the map of global land use change and public discourse. Yet what are the processes involved in these large-scale land transfers? This paper provides a comparative analysis of legal and institutional frameworks and actual practices associated with large-scale land acquisitions in Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. Drawing on policy documents, interviews with government officials from diverse sectors and discussions with customary leaders and affected communities, we explore some of the deficiencies in legislation and practice which currently undermine the ability to safeguard customary rights in the context of large-scale land acquisition.

Handbook of Land and Water Grabs in Africa

Handbook of Land and Water Grabs in Africa PDF Author: John Anthony Allan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136276734
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 446

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Book Description
According to estimates by the International Land Coalition based at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), 57 million hectares of land have been leased to foreign investors since 2007. Current research has focused on human rights issues related to inward investment in land but has been ignorant of water resource issues and the challenges of managing scarce water. This handbook will be the first to address inward investment in land and its impact on water resources in Africa. The geographical scope of this book will be the African continent, where land has attracted the attention of risk-taking investors because much land is under-utilised marginalized land, with associated water resources and rapidly growing domestic food markets. The successful implementation of investment strategies in African agriculture could determine the future of more than one billion people. An important factor to note is that Sub-Saharan Africa will, of all the continents, be hit hardest by climate change, population growth and food insecurity. Sensible investment in agriculture is therefore needed, however, at what costs and at whose expense? The book will also address the livelihoods theme and provide a holistic analysis of land and water grabbing in Sub-Saharan Africa. Four other themes will addressed: politics, economics, environment and the history of land investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. The editors have involved a highly diverse group of around 25 expert researchers, who will review the pro and anti-investment arguments, geopolitics, the role of capitalist investors, the environmental contexts and the political implications of, and reasons for, leasing millions of hectares in Sub-Saharan Africa. To date, there has been no attempt to review land investments through a suite of different lenses, thus this handbook will differ significantly from existing research and publication. The editors are Tony Allan, (Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography, School of Oriental and African Studies and King’s College London); Jeroen Warner (Assistant Professor, Disaster Studies, University of Wageningen); Suvi Sojamo (PhD Researcher, Water and Development Research Group, Aalto University); and Martin Keulertz (PhD Researcher, Department of Geography, London Water Group, King’s College London).

Guidelines for sustainable large-scale land deals in Africa

Guidelines for sustainable large-scale land deals in Africa PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 925109831X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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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.

The Anatomy of Large-scale Farmland Acquisitions in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Anatomy of Large-scale Farmland Acquisitions in Sub-Saharan Africa PDF Author: George C. Schoneveld
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
In recent years, sub-Saharan Africa has become one of the most significant targets for large-scale land acquisitions for plantation agriculture and forestry. Although investments of this sort can provide much needed capital for Africa & rsquo;s ailing landbased economies, in the context of weak domestic governance of investments and land resources they carry a myriad of socioeconomic and environmental risks. While much has been written on the topic, little empirical evidence is available as to the magnitude, distribution and drivers of large-scale farmland acquisitions in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper addresses these knowledge gaps by analysing 353 projects in 32 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, covering an area of about 18.1 million ha. It illustrates a high geographic concentration of investments, with two-thirds of the area acquired by large-scale farmland projects located in just seven countries. In some countries, particularly Ethiopia and Ghana, these investments are likely to create significant competition with socially and environmentally valuable land uses, given the comparatively high proportion of 'available' land that has already been acquired since 2005. Moreover, since most lands are leased to investors for renewable periods of 2599 years, and often originate from the customary domain, this typically implies a long-term alienation of vital livelihood resources. One of the most significant drivers of these acquisitions was found to be the perception by 'northern' investors, particularly from Europe, of a long-term demand for biofuels in industrialised countries. Another important driver is the demand for food products in 'southern' countries, notably from South Asia and the Middle East ...

Governance, Conflict, and Natural Resources in Africa

Governance, Conflict, and Natural Resources in Africa PDF Author: Hany Gamil Besada
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0228007070
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
A country's abundant natural resources may serve as a curse or a blessing, with the outcome often dependent on prevailing governance structures and experience managing these assets. Despite natural resource advantages, many African countries have failed to transform their enormous economic potential and wealth into tangible benefits such as sustainable socio-economic development, human security, or peace. Governance, Conflict, and Natural Resources in Africa reevaluates the role that foreign state-owned and private-sector actors play in resource-rich states – whether stable, post-conflict, or fragile – in sub-Saharan Africa. Through research and an analysis of in-depth interviews with local stakeholders in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia, Hany Besada explains how foreign state-owned and private-sector corporations have contributed to economic growth at both the national and local levels in different resource-rich countries. This book reveals the unique challenges and opportunities created by these investors, demonstrating that new policies in business practices and operations have the potential to generate sustainable development and positive economic transformation. Governance, Conflict, and Natural Resources in Africa puts forward a novel framework for understanding the role of private economic actors in extractive industries in Africa and sheds new light on foreign private-sector contributions to capacity building and economic development.