Book: The governance of large-scale farmland investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. A comparative analysis of challenges for sustainability.
By George Schoneveld
2013
Growing global resource scarcities and increasingly unstable commodity markets have in recent years propelled large numbers of investors to seek access to the cheap and fertile farmlands of sub-Saharan Africa. Though potentially providing its often neglected agricultural sector with much-needed investment capital, with many of these investments threatening to deprive the rural poor of vital livelihood resources and contribute to environment degradation, these investments have become a topic of heated debate in the public, political, and academic arenas.
Amidst a rapidly growing body of research on particularly trends and outcomes, The Governance of Large-Scale Farmland Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa examines a critically under researched aspect of this trend, namely, host country governance. With an absence of sufficiently comprehensive international regulatory frameworks, the investment governance burden often falls solely on host country governments, which in the African context are typically ill-equipped or disinclined to provide adequate oversight. This exacerbates the risk of adverse local social, economic, and environmental impacts and undermines the effective capture of investments’ potential developmental contributions.
The primary aim of this book is to advance the understanding of the regulatory conditions under which large-scale farmland investments can contribute to sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa. It does this by explaining why the local outcomes of most farmland investment have to date been so similar. In so doing, this book examines and links a range of issues that to date have often been evaluated in isolation – ranging from laws and policies in host countries to institutional dynamics and local community responses. The analysis is based on original field research conducted by the author in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia.
George C. Schoneveld is a Scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Nairobi, Kenya. This book was produced as part of his PhD under the LANDac programme, one of the Academies for International Cooperation sponsored by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and hosted by the Utrecht University.
This publication can be ordered here.
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
Land rights and Coca Cola
Following the Oxfam report ‘Sugar Rush – Land rights and the supply chains of the biggest food and beverage companies’, Coca Cola announced that it commits to zero-tolerance for land grabbing. Please find the full commitments here.
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
Publication: The governance of large-scale farmland investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. A comparative analysis of challenges for sustainability.
Book: The governance of large-scale farmland investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. A comparative analysis of challenges for sustainability.
By George Schoneveld
2013
Growing global resource scarcities and increasingly unstable commodity markets have in recent years propelled large numbers of investors to seek access to the cheap and fertile farmlands of sub-Saharan Africa. Though potentially providing its often neglected agricultural sector with much-needed investment capital, with many of these investments threatening to deprive the rural poor of vital livelihood resources and contribute to environment degradation, these investments have become a topic of heated debate in the public, political, and academic arenas.
Amidst a rapidly growing body of research on particularly trends and outcomes, The Governance of Large-Scale Farmland Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa examines a critically under researched aspect of this trend, namely, host country governance. With an absence of sufficiently comprehensive international regulatory frameworks, the investment governance burden often falls solely on host country governments, which in the African context are typically ill-equipped or disinclined to provide adequate oversight. This exacerbates the risk of adverse local social, economic, and environmental impacts and undermines the effective capture of investments’ potential developmental contributions.
The primary aim of this book is to advance the understanding of the regulatory conditions under which large-scale farmland investments can contribute to sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa. It does this by explaining why the local outcomes of most farmland investment have to date been so similar. In so doing, this book examines and links a range of issues that to date have often been evaluated in isolation – ranging from laws and policies in host countries to institutional dynamics and local community responses. The analysis is based on original field research conducted by the author in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia.
George C. Schoneveld is a Scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Nairobi, Kenya. This book was produced as part of his PhD under the LANDac programme, one of the Academies for International Cooperation sponsored by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and hosted by the Utrecht University.
This publication can be ordered here.
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
New website: focus on land in Africa
Focus on Land in Africa (FOLA) is a joint initiative of the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Landesa, and provides information for development practitioners and policy makers who are interested in how land and natural resource rights affect, and are effected by, development in Africa. The website provides country sources, information about specific development themes and briefs about property rights issues.
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
Call for papers World Bank Land & Poverty Conference 2014
The World Bank has launched its new call for papers for the Land & Poverty Conference in 2014. The conference takes place in Washington DC, at the World Bank, from 31 March – 3 April. Under the theme of “Land Governance in the Post-2015 Agenda: Harnessing Synergies for Implementation and Monitoring Impact”, the 2014 conference will focus on building a shared understanding of best practices in land governance. For more information about the theme and instructions for paper submissions, please visit the conference website.
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
DFID to scale up Land portfolio
DFID intends to publish a new competition opportunity in early 2014 where they will be seeking partners for a new multi-million programme which will improve land governance and the protection of land tenure rights in up to 6 DFID focus countries, and promote greater transparency and accountability in land governance globally.
For more information, please visit the DfID supplier portal.
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
Climate change and land
On 30 September, LANDac organized a lecture around the themes of climate change and land. Dr Sonja Vermeulen of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) introduced recent themes and topics around the links between climate change policies and land governance.
A short report of the lecture will be available soon.
Please find Sonja’s power point presentation via this link.
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
Csr in the agro-food sector
The International Development Studies group of Utrecht University, partner of LANDac, has recently published a research report about Corporate Social Responsibility in the agro-food sector in five African countries. The researchers, in close collaboration with Master students, interviewed 90 firms in South Africa, Mozambique, Rwanda, Kenya and Ethiopia. The environment and the use of natural resources (including land) are one of the aspects of CSR that were discussed.
Please find the report here.
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
Global Donor Working Group on Land launched
During the Donor Roundtable Meeting in Washington on the margins of the annual land and poverty conference at the World Bank on 12 April 2013 participants agreed to establish a new Global Donor Working Group on Land. This was in recognition of the increased attention to land issues following the first global food price spike in 2007/08, the huge relevance of land tenure rights and good land governance for food security and sustainable development, and the need for donors to be able to share information systematically and improve coordination on a continuous basis.
Please find more information about the Global Donor WG on Land, including its workplan, via:
http://www.donorplatform.org/land/on-common-ground.html
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
Land conflicts in Brazil on Dutch television: Nieuwsuur
Nieuwsuur, a Dutch newsreel, broadcasted an item about the involvement of four Dutch banks and two Dutch pensionfunds in violent land conflicts in Brazil. The banks and pensionfunds invest in Bunge, an American company, which has deals with local sugarcane farmers who are using indigenous lands in Brazil.
The report (in Dutch) is available via:
http://nieuwsuur.nl/onderwerp/557768-landroof-gefinancierd-met-nederlands-geld.html
Last Updated: 26th July 2019 by admin
Sugar rush and land rights
As part of its ‘Behind the Brands’ campaign, Oxfam today published a new report about the sugar rush and how it is driving large-scale land acquisitions and land conflicts. Sugar, as a land-intensive crop, is one of the drivers of increasing pressure on land. The report shows that these pressures have cost communities their homes, farms and food security. Major food and beverage companies are also to blame: although they rarely own land, they depend on it for the crops they buy, including sugar. Oxfam calls on individual companies to understand their supply chain and take action to solve problems.
Please access the full report via the following link:
http://www.oxfamnovib.nl/Redactie/Downloads/Rapporten/bn-sugar-rush-land-supply-chains-food-beverage-companies-021013-embargo-en.pdf