scholarly journals Can large-scale land acquisition deals improve livelihoods and lift people out of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa? Empirical evidence from Tanzania

Author(s):  
Ernest Nkansah-Dwamena

The recent wave of large-scale land acquisitions or land deals, popularly called ‘land grabbing’ in subSaharan Africa, has provoked vigorous debate over the potential benefits and risks to local people, with results structured by complex policy and institu­tional context. Land deals present new develop­ment challenges and aggravate old vulnera­bilities, raising critical questions for investigation. Yet empirical evidence of impacts on local populations is limited, particularly regarding how land deals affect local people’s livelihood assets, strategies, and outcomes. Guided by the sustainable livelihood approach and a quasi-experimental design, I compare livelihoods before and after a land deal project and between an affected and a control community in southwestern Tanzania. I use household surveys, focused group discussions, and key informant interviews to collect data. The ANOVA analyses revealed that the project severely deterio­rated households’ natural, financial, and social capital and had far-reaching impacts on well-being in the affected community compared to the control village. The study recommends that African countries should consider (1) scrutinizing land deals and enforcing contracts, (2) conducting rigorous envi­ron­mental and social impact assess­ment, (3) strengthening customary land rights and reinforc­ing compensation policies, and (4) mean­ingfully involving locals in land deal negotiations. This contribution responds to the deficit in research on land deals’ impacts on livelihoods and well-being and lays the groundwork for future research.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest Nkansah-Dwamena

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.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2110570
Author(s):  
Margarida Rodrigues ◽  
Rui Silva ◽  
Mário Franco

In all areas of knowledge, research has shown the devastating effects of COVID-19, and the impact on families’ financial stress and well-being is one of them. Crises are predictors of families’ financial stress as they produce changes in their income and negative feelings, such as fear and demotivation, which affect well-being. This study analyses the financial and social impact of COVID-19 on families, supported by the ABCE-WB model, with data collection being the result of snowball sampling. The results obtained allow the conclusion that the current pandemic crisis has caused financial stress in families, to a greater or lesser degree, and caused feelings of fear and demotivation as consequences of the general lockdown. The empirical evidence also shows that these effects are positively associated with the perception of their level of well-being. The contribution of the study lies in corroborating the model used. Final considerations are presented together with the limitations and suggestions for future research.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. e047280
Author(s):  
Gamji M’Rabiu Abubakari ◽  
Debbie Dada ◽  
Jemal Nur ◽  
DeAnne Turner ◽  
Amma Otchere ◽  
...  

IntroductionResearch has established that various forms of stigma (HIV stigma, gender non-conforming stigma and same-gender sex stigma) exist across Sub-Saharan Africa and have consequences for the utilisation of HIV prevention and care services. Stigmas are typically investigated in HIV literature individually or through investigating individual populations and the various stigmas they may face. The concept of intersectionality highlights the interconnected nature of social categorisations and their ability to create interdependent systems of discrimination based on gender, race, sexuality and so on. Drawing from perspectives on intersectionality, intersectional stigma denotes the convergence of multiple marginalised identities within an individual or a group, the experiences of stigma associated with these identities as well as the synergistic impact of these experiences on health and well-being. With respect to HIV, public health scholars can examine the impacts of intersectional stigmas on HIV prevention and care utilisation.Methods and analysisReviewers will search systematically through MEDLINE, Global Health, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection and Africa Index Medicus and citations for quantitative studies, qualitative studies and grey literature that include data on stigma and HIV among men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eligible studies will include primary or secondary data on stigma related to HIV risk factors experienced by this population. Studies will be written in French or English and be published between January 1991 and November 2020. All screening and data extraction will be performed in duplicate, and if discrepancies arise, they will be settled by GM’RA, LEN, DD or AO. Findings from this study will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval is not required as there will be no human participants and no protected data will be used in this study. We will disseminate findings through peer-reviewed manuscripts, conferences and webinars.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1139-1162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott D. Easton ◽  
Danielle M. Leone-Sheehan ◽  
Patrick J. O’Leary

Clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse (CPSA) during childhood represents a tragic betrayal of trust that inflicts damage on the survivor, the family, and the parish community. Survivors often report CPSA has a disturbing impact on their self-identity. Despite intense media coverage of clergy abuse globally in the Catholic Church (and other faith communities) over several decades, relatively few empirical studies have been conducted with survivors. Beyond clinical observations and advocacy group reports, very little is known about survivors’ perceptions of how the abuse impacted their long-term self-identity. Using data collected during the 2010 Health and Well-Being Survey, this qualitative analysis represents one of the first large-scale studies with a non-clinical sample of adult male survivors of CPSA from childhood ( N = 205). The negative effects of the sexual abuse on participants were expressed across six domains of self-identity: (a) total self, (b) psychological self, (c) relational self, (d) gendered self, (e) aspirational self, and (f) spiritual self. These findings highlight the range and depth of self-suffering inflicted by this pernicious form of sexual violence. The findings are useful for developing clinical services for survivors, shaping public and institutional policies to address clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse, and guiding future research with this population.


2020 ◽  
pp. 901-933
Author(s):  
Sarah Fidler ◽  
Timothy E.A. Peto ◽  
Philip Goulder ◽  
Christopher P. Conlon

Since its discovery in 1983, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been associated with a global pandemic that has affected more than 78 million people and caused more than 39 million deaths. Globally, 36.9 million (34.3–41.4 million) people were living with HIV at the end of 2013. An estimated 0.8% of adults aged 15–49 years worldwide are living with HIV, although the burden of the epidemic continues to vary considerably between countries and regions. Sub-Saharan Africa remains most severely affected, with nearly 1 in every 20 adults living with HIV and accounting for nearly 71% of the people living with HIV worldwide. The impact of HIV in some African countries has been sufficient to reverse population growth and reduce life expectancy into the mid-30s, although HIV incidence has declined in some of these high-prevalence countries. However, there are large-scale HIV epidemics elsewhere (e.g. India, the Russian Federation, and Eastern Europe).


Agriculture ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Mazzocchi ◽  
Michele Salvan ◽  
Luigi Orsi ◽  
Guido Sali

The determinants of large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) are, in most cases, outside the traditional sales–buying land market, as they are often rented lands for long periods of time or exploitation licenses. Sub-Saharan Africa is among the most affected regions by this phenomenon for reasons related to its land policy, and includes 37% of the total LSLAs cases. The paper develops an econometric model based on a logarithmic OLS regression to identify the determinants of LSLAs in sub-Saharan Africa. As suggested by the literature, this analysis poses the total agricultural area acquired by country as dependent variable. Results show that investors prefer a country offering a sufficiently free trade economic context with a good level of agricultural productivity, thus allowing an easy investment process. Moreover, a country with a formal recognition of land rights is preferred, to have guarantees on their investment. The availability of water is also one of the main LSLAs drivers, as a natural limit of agricultural investments.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 ◽  
pp. 10002
Author(s):  
Martti Veldi ◽  
Simon Bell ◽  
Friedrich Kuhlmann

In 1951 the first colour film in was produced Soviet Estonia–Valgus Koordis (“Light in Koordi village”). This never-before-seen medium applied effective ideological symbols to visualise the power of collective effort with the scope of difficulties building up the new life in a freshly established collective farm (kolkhoz). It was straightforward propaganda to demonstrate that in spite of difficulties, collective farming was the only correct way to achieve prosperity in the countryside. The theme of the film was to show the goodness of Stalinist improvements in a poor post-war rural community at the end of the 1940s. In a very simple manner, topics such as nationalism, the class struggle, socialist ideology, kulaks, collective ownership, mechanisation of agriculture and large-scale land improvements were presented. To capture the wider audience and to increase social impact, the film also starred the rising opera star Georg Ots, still considered as one of the greatest Estonian opera singers ever. In addition to ideologically charged films, a type of propagandist short documentary, the ringvaade (newsreel) was produced in Soviet Estonia. These concentrated on various aspects ofSoviet lifestyle, aiming to demonstrate the achievements of collectiveideology, and the high morale of the Soviet working class. We studied these and other examples in order to examine the range of themes andmotifs presented in them, focusing on the ideological impact on the rural landscape caused by mechanisation, forest management and land melioration. What is revealed is an attempt to persuade the new kolkhozniki (collective farmers) of the benefits of the new system – which, ironically, had dispossessed many of them of their own farms which they had built up in the inter-war years (and which were restored to them after the collapse of the Soviet system in the 1990s).


2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (5) ◽  
pp. 465-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oye Gureje ◽  
Victor O. Lasebikan ◽  
Lola Kola ◽  
Victor A. Makanjuola

BackgroundLarge-scale community studies of the prevalence of mental disorders using standardised assessment tools are rare in sub-Saharan Africa.AimsTo conduct such a study.MethodMultistage stratified clustered sampling of households in the Yoruba-speaking parts of Nigeria. Face-to-face interviews used the World Mental Health version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI).ResultsOf the 4984 people interviewed (response rate 79.9%), 12.1% had a lifetime rate of at least one DSM–IV disorder and 5.8% had 12-month disorders. Anxiety disorders were the most common (5.7% lifetime, 4.1% 12-month rates) but virtually no generalised anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder were identified. Of the 23% who had seriously disabling disorders, only about 8% had received treatment in the preceding 12 months. Treatment was mostly provided by general medical practitioners; only a few were treated by alternative practitioners such as traditional healers.ConclusionsThe observed low rates seem to reflect demographic and ascertainment factors. There was a large burden of unmet need for care among people with serious disorders.


Out of War ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 147-170
Author(s):  
Mariane C. Ferme

Even in the broader African context, in which the chieftaincy has enjoyed a renaissance, the institution enjoys unusual power in Sierra Leone, where chiefs have strong representation and votes in national politics. Following more sedentary, land-based models of sovereignty in colonial times, the decade-long civil war saw the reemergence of alternative, more mobile models of the chieftaincy harkening back to precolonial times, in the face of massive population displacements. In the aftermath of war, when many chieftaincies were vacant, the possibility of replacing this hybrid hereditary-elected office with more democratic district councils was debated, but chiefs continue to be key members of these institutions, which rely on them for the collection of revenue and the administration of justice, particularly in rural areas. The chapter argues that the resurgence of this institution in sub-Saharan Africa is due to the ways in which chieftaincy stands for a more culturally legitimate form of decentralized governance, in contrast with the corrupt institutions of state governance. In Sierra Leone, the office’s continued identification with the local administration and allocation of land gives it renewed importance in the face of large-scale land deals with (and land grabs by) foreign investors. The expanding practice of conferring honorary chieftaincies to foreign agents of development contributes to the deterritorialization of the institution.


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