Transformation from Subsistence to Commercial Agriculture in Nigeria

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.

Compensating Landholders in Tanzania

Most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania, liberalized their land policies in the early 1990s because of the pressure from neo-liberal institutions such as the World Bank and IMF. The 1999 Tanzanian Land Laws are hailed to be the most progressive legislations in the Sub-Saharan region in terms of decentralization of land administrative powers and protection of customary tenure. However, they are still hampered with both policy weakness and implementation challenges. The standards used in compensation are still weak and unclear and subject to arbitrariness. Consequently, foreign investors or the government in cases of public interest acquisitions can acquire land without fully compensating the landholders. For land holders to get fair compensation in Tanzania there is need for both legislative amendments and change in practice. This chapter explores the compensation of landholders in Tanzania.

Nigeria's Legal Instruments for Land and Water Use

This chapter critically assesses the administration of land and water resources in Nigeria. Reasons why the Land Use Act has not met its objectives are discussed. It also assesses reasons why, despite abundant water resources, numerous laws, and multiple governing institutions, Nigeria is still struggling to meet the national demand for water supply. The chapter concludes by suggesting specific amendments to the administration of both land and water resources. The main thrust of the suggested amendments is to address the current situation where government arrogates absolute authority on all land and water resources to itself. It is suggested that the government should consider adopting a multi-lateral relationship where government, private investors, traditional landowners, and prospective land buyers are co-decision makers in charting the future for the administration of land and water resources. This is aimed at eliminating associated problems such as delays, tenure insecurity, and proliferation of peri-urbanization in the current system.

Agents and Implications of Foreign Land Deals in East African Community

Some of the factors that have been attributed to the global increase of Foreign Land Deals (FLDs) include the three Fs (food, fuel, and finance) crises, among others. However, most of the empirical evidence stems from the assessment of a broad set of countries. An analysis on the main determinants across host communities within a country presents specificity and closer reality. This chapter contributes by examining the community factors that could exert significant influence on determining whether or not a community receives FLDs in East African Community (EAC), focusing on Uganda. Uganda is an interesting case to investigate because the country is one of the destinations of FLDs in EAC, apart from Kenya and Tanzania. Taking it one step further, the chapter investigates the possible implications of FLDs on the host communities in terms of improvement (or deterioration) on selected community outcome variables: the quality and services relating to education, road, water, and health facilities.

Foreign Land Acquisitions, Corruption, and Sustainable Livelihood in Sub-Saharan Africa

This chapter investigates the link between foreign land acquisitions and corruption and its implications for sustainable livelihoods in two countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania. The leading question is, Does foreign land acquisition provide support for sustainable livelihoods or threaten it and why? The findings reveal that foreign land acquisition provides the prospect to build the capacity necessary for the development of Mozambique and Tanzania, but the local communities that host biofuel industries are being exploited and their livelihoods threatened due their marginalization in the land transactions. At a glance, it appears as if land deals are transparent, communities, governments, and foreign investors reach a negotiated settlement that benefits all sides, but land deals are being facilitated by power dynamics, corruption, community cohesion, and promises without fulfillment. Therefore, given local communities equal opportunity to influence land deals will create the environment necessary for cooperation, fulfillment of promises, national development, and improve livelihood opportunities.

Factors Influencing Foreign Land Acquisition and Sustainable Development in Nigeria

Of the major factors of production, land is considered the most important. Land is such a valuable resources that the desire to acquire it has been a cause of struggle among the people virtually in all hitherto existing human societies. Land acquisition is influenced by numerous factors in which all play relevant roles in understanding the dynamics of land and its utilization among the people in the society. In Africa, foreign land acquisition has become a topical issue because of the richness of the African land resources, and the scamper for these resources has been a source of concern for many observers. This chapter analyzes the factors inhibiting foreign land acquisition in a developing country like Nigeria and examines the challenges posed by such practices to the attainment of sustainable development.

Land Deals and Sustainable Income

This chapter examines the extent to which land deals affect the sustainable income of households in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. Particular interest is paid to the interplay between land deals and other covariates like education, age, and other incomes aside land deals. A survey consisting of about 500 Ota indigenes is analyzed using logistic regression, which is complemented by other descriptive statistics. The results reveal that land deals have not sufficiently and positively affected the income of the individuals. On sustainability of income, land deals act in direct opposition with the other covariates. This implies that when land deals significantly affect sustainable income the other variables act otherwise. The implication from this is that land deals are not a sustainable source of income for indigenes in the study area. This is particularly because its inclusion in the model has an adverse effect on the other covariates.

Land Deals, Dispossession, and the Threat to Peasant Livelihood in Northern Ghana

The chapter discusses how the security of communal lands tenureship and the livelihood choices that such land entitlements confer on peasants in northern Ghana are being undermined by new forms of land deals. This is done against a background unlike the past. Northern Ghana is witnessing an influx of transnational organizations that are interested in establishing jatropha plantations as biofuel feedstock. The implications of direct land deals between traditional leaders and transnational corporations, which invariably involve large tracts of land and the livelihoods of the peasantry, is a matter of interest in this work. The vulnerability of traditional leaders caused by their weak institutional capacity and poverty push them to enter into agreements that they do not understand. The chapter examines both sides of the debate pertaining to the outcomes of the land transactions on livelihoods in light of the poverty in northern Ghana.

International Land Deals and Agricultural Investment in Ethiopia

This chapter investigates land deals processes and the effects on livelihoods in Gambella and Benishangul-Gumuz. It applies quantitative and qualitative data from primary and secondary sources. It describes the land deals, actors involved, and the effect of the deal on villagers' land rights, food security, job creation, technology transfer, and sustainable use of natural resources. The study concludes that the government effort towards large-scale land deals and agricultural investment is promising. However, there is a gap regarding making the deals a win-win situation for stakeholders. Therefore, it is recommended that the governance of land deals need to be improved, and the capacity of the three actors—the government, investors, and local communities—need to be developed to play their respective roles in the deals. It is also recommended that effective monitoring and control mechanisms related to large-scale agricultural investments should be put in place and properly implemented.

Missing Gender Concerns in Development-Induced Displacement and Resettlement

Displacement and its impact on the social, cultural, and economic lives of the affected people is a huge discourse in contemporary India, but very little empirical data is available on the issue of displacement from a gender perspective. By law and by custom, women in India have been largely excluded from owning or inheriting property. The lack of ownership makes women vulnerable, dependent, and at a greater risk of being excluded from the decision-making process during displacement because in most cases it is this “ownership” of land that governs one's entitlement to compensation. The concerns of livelihood loss are also closely related to land. Displaced women are often forced to bear a greater burden. In this chapter, how development-induced displacement impacts women differently and how gender-blind resettlement planning and policies can reinforce gender disparities that already exist in society are examined.