Testing Claims about Large Land Deals in Africa: Findings from a Multi-Country Study

Despite much research on large land deals for plantation agriculture in Africa, reliable data remain elusive, partly because of limited access to information and practical and methodological challenges. International debates are still shaped by misperceptions about how much land is being acquired, where, by whom, how and with what consequences. This article aims empirically to test some common perceptions through an analysis of findings from research conducted in three African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania. The article presents new evidence on the scale, geography, drivers and features of land deals, relates findings to data from earlier research and international efforts to monitor land deals, and outlines possible ways forward for ongoing monitoring of the deals

Changes in the drylands of Eastern Africa: a review of evidence and data and their implications for efforts to strengthening resilience

Includes Final report, March 2016Changes in the drylands of eastern Africa These reports detail evidence and data of long-term changes in the drylands of eastern Africa and the implications of these for efforts to strengthen resilience within pastoral systems. The region covered includes Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia. The reports were prepared for a study commissioned by the DFID East Africa Research Hub, and its aims were three-fold: 1. To synthesise evidence across scholarly and available materials on poverty, vulnerability, livelihoods and change in eastern Africa’s drylands; 2. To catalogue national and sub-national datasets on poverty, vulnerability, livelihoods and resilience; and 3. To identify and report on priority, long-term evidence-gaps as well as recommendations on future research and data collection. Led by Dr. Jeremy Lind and Professor Rachel Sabates-Wheeler, the studies are based on a review of over 400 scholarly and grey literature reports, as well as assessment of over 100 data-sets from the region. The main report details the overall findings of the evidence synthesis and mapping of data-sets. A technical note provides in-depth findings of the evidence synthesis and data mapping exercise as well as the methodology that was used. The technical note can be read alongside a catalogue of the evidence that was reviewed and data-sets. A case study report assesses evidence and data of long-term change in five pastoral systems in the region: the Somali zone of Ethiopia, the Borana Plateau in southern Ethiopia, the South Rift Valley in Kenya, the Karamoja region of Uganda, and Bahr al Ghazal in South Sudan.Dfi