Large-Scale Land Deals and Local Livelihoods in Rwanda: The Bitter Fruit of a New Agrarian Model

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
An Ansoms
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
Food Crops ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Local Elite ◽  
Local Livelihoods ◽  
Land Holdings ◽  
Large Scale Land ◽  
Private Investors ◽  
Bitter Fruit

Abstract:In a context of globalization and liberalization, Africa is increasingly confronted with the commercialization of its space. Various large-scale actors, including international private investors, investor states, and local entrepreneurs, are constantly seeking to expand their land holdings for the production of food crops or biofuels. This article presents two Rwandan case studies and analyzes how large-scale land acquisition by foreign and local elite players affects local livelihoods. It identifies broader agrarian and social changes taking place in Rwanda and Africa and provides suggestions as to how the tables might be turned in order to protect local livelihoods in the further evolution of Rwanda’s agriculture.

Plural Valuation of Land and Insights for Achieving Sustainable Outcomes in Large-Scale Land Acquisition Projects

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest Nkansah-Dwamena
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Local Livelihoods ◽  
The Government ◽  
Large Scale Land

Large-scale land acquisition projects by foreign investors, also known as “land grabbing,” raise difficult questions about the processes of valuing land in Sub-Saharan Africa that the current literature does not sufficiently explore. Land acquisitions can help developing countries like Tanzania achieve their economic and development goals. Nonetheless, it can also threaten local livelihoods and well-being due to displacement, lack of access to natural capital, and conflicts between land users. Empirical evidence is limited on how local contexts affect the recognition and incorporation of multiple values that people hold about land into decisions on land acquisition projects in Tanzania. Plural valuation (PV) is needed to design more comprehensive and deliberative policy instruments that enhance nature’s contributions to people. This empirical study uses sociocultural valuation approaches to assess the diverse values of land in the Bagamoyo district of Tanzania, impacts of EcoEnergy land acquisition project on local livelihoods, and contextual factors that enable or hinder incorporating PV into decisions. The findings suggest that synergies and conflicting values of land exist, and PV can serve as a negotiation support tool to reconcile the differences and land conflicts. The success of PV relies on the (1) extent of partnership and participation, (2) design of asset valuation process, (3) stakeholder goals, and (4) sociopolitical context. Currently, the risks of land acquisition projects outweigh the benefits to people in rural Tanzania. However, to realize the sustainable and equitable flow of the contributions of land to Tanzanians, the government should consider improving the valuation processes by (i) fostering recognition of neglected voices and marginalized people, (ii) rectifying power imbalances and injustices that result from current land valuation processes, (iii) reinforcing customary land rights and compensation policies, and (iv) adhering to the principle of free, prior, and informed consent.

Transformation from Subsistence to Commercial Agriculture in Nigeria

2015 ◽  
pp. 409-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abiodun E. Obayelu
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Commercial Agriculture ◽  
Land Owners ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Large Scale Land ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
Policies And Programs

Agriculture is in critical state in Nigeria with domestic food production being less than the growing population. The chapter analyzes the ongoing transformation of subsistence agriculture to commercial in Nigeria and the attendant effects of large-scale land acquisition on small-scale farmers. It uses both theoretical and empirical research designs with direct interviews of relevant stakeholders and case studies. It reviews past and present policies and programs aimed at transforming agriculture from subsistence to commercial in Nigeria. The results reveal that large-scale land acquisition and farming is not new in Nigeria. Acquisitions of land by foreigners has always been with the help and consent of government, unlike the case when it involves indigenous investors. Acquisitions have in most cases been characterized by conflicts between the landowners or tillers and investors. To transition successfully from subsistence to commercial agriculture, there is a need for strong collective actions between the depraved land owners, government, and investors.

scholarly journals Land Grabbing and the Axis of Political Conflicts: Insights from Southwest Cameroon

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frankline A. Ndi ◽  
Simon Batterbury
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agrarian Change ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
Inclusive Process ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
Large Scale Land ◽  
Land Use Practices

Large-scale land acquisition (LSLA) by foreign interests is a major driver of agrarian change in the productive regions of Africa. Rural communities across Southwest Cameroon are experiencing a range of political conflicts resulting from LSLA, in which commercial interests are threatening local land-use practices and access to land. This paper shows that the struggle to maintain or redefine livelihoods generates tension between inward competition for and outward contestation of claims to land. In Nguti Subdivision, the scene of protests against a particular agribusiness company, there is continued debate over ideas about, interests in, and perceptions of land and tenure. The authors show how top-down land acquisition marginalises land users, leading to conflicts within communities and with the companies involved, and conclude that for an agro-project to succeed and avoid major conflicts, dominance by elite interests must give way to a more inclusive process.

scholarly journals The Problematic of Small-Scale Land Acquisition (Less than 5 Hectares) for Public Interest Development

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Donna Okhtalia Setiabudhi
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Interest Development ◽  
Large Scale Land ◽  
Legal Substances ◽  
The Impact

Land acquisition for public interest development is stipulated in Act No. 2 of 2012 concerning Land Acquisition for Development of Public Interest. One arrangement of land acquisition in legal substances that have been formed are small-scale land acquisition (less than 5 hectares), but it is still governed by very vague and thus susceptible to the multi-interpretation and raises doubts in its implementation. This paper discusses the problematic that arise due to unclear regulations concerning small-scale land acquisition and to provide solutions to these problems. Based on the discussion the authors concluded first, the problematic of small-scale land acquisition is the arrangement of land acquisition that is so vague that there is no clarity regarding the procedures for determining of location, the phase of land acquisition, which excludes public consultation, there is no regulation regarding preventive measures against the impact for the community around location of land acquisition. Second, the solution could be found to this problem is a regulation of small-scale land acquisition should ideally be regulated more comprehensively considering that small-scale land acquisition allows the emergence of adverse effects for the community around location of land acquisition so that the stages of planning and preparation that is set for the large-scale land acquisition is similarly applied for small-scale.

scholarly journals The political-economy of land acquisition and privatization of Birr and Ayehu Farms in Amhara Region, North-West Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asabu Sewenet Alamineh ◽  
Getachew Fentahun Workie ◽  
Nurlign Birhan Moges
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Public Enterprises ◽  
North West ◽  
Local Livelihoods ◽  
North West Ethiopia ◽  
Legal Frameworks

AbstractThe recognition of commercial agricultural investment led to the expansion of large-scale farms through eviction of farmers during the Derg and Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) regimes. But anti-dispossession voices and investment driven violence have frequently occurred in post-Derg Ethiopia. This study thus attempts to uncover the political-economy of land acquisition and privatization of Birr and Ayehu farms. The necessary data for the study were collected through interview, questionnaire, focused group discussion and document review. The data collected through questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The findings of the study indicated that the farms were began during the Derg regime as public enterprises, and later privatized to Ethio-Agri-CEFT in a neo-patrimonial modality with a gigantic trend of land acquisition, legal distortion and violation of landholding rights. This poor and neo-patrimonial operation of farms jeopardized local livelihoods, created land use change and evoked stiff public grievance, political upheaval and polarized state–society relations. This indicated that the expansion of farms have brought lopsided development to party affiliated investors by dismantling local livelihoods. Ethio Agri-CEFT thus should respect legal frameworks and adopt inclusive developmental practices for its sustainability and success.

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