Interplay of Land Governance and Large-Scale Agricultural Investment: Evidence from Ghana and Kenya

Recognising the increased demand for agricultural land, this comparative analysis examines the effect of large-scale land acquisitions on their surrounding institutional environment. An embedded case study design allows us to analyse two specific land deals in Ghana and Kenya. We find that insufficiencies in these countries’ land governance systems are partly caused by discrepancies between de jure and de facto procedures; and that weak legal frameworks, coupled with poor enforcement, produce outcomes that depend to a large extent on the investors. We also find that large-scale land acquisitions have a feedback effect on the land governance system, which suggests that large-scale land acquisitions can be drivers of institutional change

Labour Market Effects of Large-Scale Agricultural Investment: Conceptual Considerations and Estimated Employment Effects

Large-scale agricultural investments (LSAIs) in general and their socio-economic implications in particular have been heavily debated in recent years. While some claim that LSAIs are an important catalyst for development in neglected rural areas, others caution that they pose a risk to rural communities' livelihoods. The extent to which LSAIs provide benefits for local communities is hence still contested. This paper sets out to conceptually understand what effects the establishment of a large-scale farm has on the rural labor market in low- and middle-income countries. In addition, we empirically address the question of whether large-scale farming as recorded in the Land Matrix creates or destroys employment. We develop a transition matrix to identify several scenarios based on key determinants of the direct employment creation potential of LSAIs, namely the former land use, the crop type and the production model. We empirically assess the actual importance of these scenarios and the employment creation to be expected from this sample of LSAIs based on labor intensities. We further look into the net employment effects for land formerly used by smallholder farmers. Our analysis shows that LSAIs massively crowd out smallholder farmers, which is only partially mitigated through the cultivation of labor intensive crops and the application of contract farming schemes. This holds true for all regions targeted by LSAIs, although regional differences are found in terms of magnitude. The paper concludes that these effects tend to be large on the local scale (i.e., in the immediate surroundings of the investment site) but small in relation to total national employment in agriculture. However, indirect employment creation related to LSAIs, which is discussed but not empirically addressed in this paper, needs to be taken into account to have the full picture

Africa remains a target as Global South "land rush" moves to production

In 2007, a spike in commodity prices triggered a sudden increase in demand for agricultural land across the world. It was believed that commercial investors in the Global North speculated on a rise in land and commodity prices. And governments aimed to ensure food security without dependence on the volatile world commodity market by buying up land, largely in the Global South. Now, almost ten years after the term "land grabbing" first entered the popular imagination, large-scale land acquisitions remain shrouded in secrecy. The Land Matrix Initiative aims to shine some light in the deals by providing open access to information on intended, concluded, and failed land acquisitions that have taken place since the year 2000. Over recent years, both the quality and the quantity of the data have improved considerably. This led us to take a fresh look at the current trends in international large-scale land acquisitions

Determinants of foreign land acquisitions in low- and middle-income countries

This article analyses the determinants of growing demand for agricultural land in developing countries. We propose some determinants that are specific to foreign acquisitions of agricultural land as a subset of agricultural foreign direct investment (FDI) and empirically examine the corresponding locational choice. Using a gravity model and a data set on land acquisitions worldwide, we find that the determinants partly overlap with those for other forms of FDI but are specific in certain regards. Rich investors target (poorer) economies with abundant land and water resources, and the effects of the quality of institutions are ambiguous

Land investments: a new type of territorial expansion

As foreigners snap up farmland around the world, it is hard to know who is investing in what, and what the effects on local people might be. An international database is throwing light on the murk

Interplay of land governance and large-scale agricultural investment: evidence from Ghana and Kenya

This comparative analysis examines how large-scale agricultural land acquisitions are implemented in Ghana and Kenya, using embedded case studies of two specific investment projects. We find that insufficiencies in these countries' land governance systems are partly caused by discrepancies between de jure and de facto procedures and that powerful actors tend to operate in the legal grey areas. These actors determine the implementation of projects to a large extent. Displacement and compensation are highly emotive issues that exacerbate tensions around the investment. We also find that large-scale land acquisitions have a feedback effect on the land governance system, which suggests that large-scale land acquisitions can be drivers of institutional change. We suggest there may be a window of opportunity here to reform these land governance systems

Food or fuel - the role of agrofuels in the rush for land

The production of agrofuel crops is believed to be playing a decisive role in the so-called "land rush," the international scramble for arable land in developing and emerging countries. Reports of an alarming wave of land acquisitions due to "agrofuels hype" initiated by agrofuel investors have made headlines in recent years. The potential merits and dangers of agrofuel production are the subject of heavy debate, with food-security concerns and environmental impacts fueling the controversy. Analysis Based on data from the Land Matrix Global Observatory, our analysis assesses the role of agrofuel production in the "rush for land" and sheds light on the often-nontransparent investment process of agrofuel projects. We find that these projects account for an important share of the global demand for land. However, the "agrofuels hype" is over. Land deals with the intention of cultivating agrofuel crops are particularly prone to failure, especially early on in the projects. We expect that the investors that have survived this first period of investments are here to stay, and that "cowboy investors" have been turned off by difficult investment environments in low- and middle-income countries. Agrofuel production is one of the main drivers of the global rush for land. Twentythree percent of the concluded transnational deals currently recorded in the Land Matrix include plants intended for agrofuel production. Sub-Saharan Africa appears to be the most heavily favored region for agrofuel investments. European investors top the rankings of investor countries for agrofuel projects. Agrofuel crops require huge initial investments and take several years to yield returns. In difficult investment environments, agrofuel projects require experienced and serious investors in order to be successful. Jatropha projects have a particularly high record of failure

International Land Deals for Agriculture: fresh insights from the Land Matrix: Analytical Report II

The beta version of the Global Observatory was launched by the Land Matrix in April 2012 with the aim of creating a reliable source of data to feed debate and provoke informed action on large-scale land deals. The Land Matrix has since become an important reference point and its website has received over 165,000 visits since 2013, with the database being downloaded 20,000 times. It is widely quoted in research papers and in the press, and is increasingly being used by national organisations - including those representing land users themselves - to inform strategic planning and to open up policy dialogue. The Sustainable Development Goals have renewed the demand for good data that can inform action and measure progress towards their achievement. The Land Matrix is a contribution to this effort, producing a wealth of data to complement official statistics and geographical information on land deals and their impacts. Transparency is embraced by the International Land Coalition (ILC)'s 207 members as one of the 10 critical ingredients in achieving "people-centred land governance" - i.e. land governance that first and foremost meets the needs, and responds to the priorities, of the women, men and communities who live off the land. We are beginning to observe private and governmental investors becoming more open to sharing their investment projects, realising that it is in their interests to do so. Nevertheless, transparency is still not the norm, and there remains a challenge in complementing global data with local data, particularly regarding the impact of land deals. This report is being launched in the same year that over 400 organisations have come together behind a Global Call to Action on Community and Indigenous Land Rights, drawing attention to the massive gap between the area of land globally that is claimed by the world’s indigenous peoples and local communities (65%) and the proportion of these claims that are actually recognised by governments (10%) - which means that the livelihoods of up to 2.5 billion women and men worldwide are rendered precarious. This is land where the utmost caution must be exercised in considering any form of large-scale land-based investment. The authors of this report find that about one-third of agricultural deals recorded in the Land Matrix involve land formerly used by smallholder farmers. This gap in recognition, which is fuelling large-scale dispossessions, is one of the key issues on which urgent joint action is needed. ILC is glad that the Land Matrix Initiative is becoming more and more relevant as a data source for communities, activists, indigenous peoples, researchers, governments and the private sector alike to make informed decisions on global and local land governance

Agricultural households in times of crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic, livelihoods and land-use decisions

The COVID-19 pandemic has profound impacts on agricultural households. We discuss how these impacts might affect the underlying drivers of land-use decisions. First, we conceptually extend models of (smallholder) land-use decision-making to assess how the pandemic affects the underlying drivers of land-use decisions. We then examine effects on agricultural households’ livelihoods, by drawing on high-frequency phone surveys from eight African countries and a literature review. We find that the COVID-19 pandemic affects these households’ livelihoods substantially, reflected for instance, by reductions in various income sources. We further find that households’ coping capabilities are weakened, meaning vulnerable households have difficulties to cope with the impacts of the pandemic. Agriculture is likely to become even more important in the years to come for households with very limited resources. Accordingly, we expect more labour-intensive uses of agricultural land. However, context matters and thus impacts on land-use are likely to be very variable