IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v48y2013icp1-18.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Contemporary Processes of Large-Scale Land Acquisition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Legal Deficiency or Elite Capture of the Rule of Law?

Author

Listed:
  • German, Laura
  • Schoneveld, George
  • Mwangi, Esther

Abstract

Growth of emerging economies, policy commitments to biofuels and volatility in commodity prices have contributed to a marked increase in the pace and scale of foreign direct investment in land-based enterprises in the global South. This paper explores the relationship between policy and practice associated with customary rights protections in the context of large-scale land acquisitions through a document review and case study analyses from Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia. Findings point to the difficulty of safeguarding customary rights even in countries providing “best practice” legal protections, and point to the fundamental role of human agency in shaping outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • German, Laura & Schoneveld, George & Mwangi, Esther, 2013. "Contemporary Processes of Large-Scale Land Acquisition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Legal Deficiency or Elite Capture of the Rule of Law?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 1-18.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:48:y:2013:i:c:p:1-18
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.03.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X1300082X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.03.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Habib-Mintz, Nazia, 2010. "Biofuel investment in Tanzania: Omissions in implementation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 3985-3997, August.
    2. Ward Anseeuw & Mathieu Boche & Thomas Breu & Markus Giger & Jann Lay & Peter Messerli & Kerstin Nolte, 2012. "Transnational land deals for agriculture in the global south," Post-Print hal-02875924, HAL.
    3. Luo, Yadong & Xue, Qiuzhi & Han, Binjie, 2010. "How emerging market governments promote outward FDI: Experience from China," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 68-79, January.
    4. Mathieu Boche & Ward Anseeuw & T. Kapuya & S. Aubin & I. Sunga, 2012. "Global Land Deals," Post-Print hal-03072578, HAL.
    5. Joireman, S.F., 2008. "The Mystery of Capital Formation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Women, Property Rights and Customary Law," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 1233-1246, July.
    6. Osama J. A. R. Abu Shair, 1997. "Privatization and Development," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-25374-6, October.
    7. Ward Anseeuw & Mathieu Boche & Thomas Breu & Markus Giger & Jann Lay & Peter Messerli & Kerstin Nolte, 2012. "Transnational land deals for agriculture in the Global South," Post-Print hal-02875921, HAL.
    8. Ward Anseeuw & Mathieu Boche & Thomas Breu & Markus Giger & Jann Lay & Peter Messerli & Kerstin Nolte, 2012. "Transnational land deals for agriculture in the global south," Post-Print hal-02875924, HAL.
    9. Lastarria-Cornhiel, Susana, 1997. "Impact of privatization on gender and property rights in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(8), pages 1317-1333, August.
    10. Roy Behnke, 1994. "Natural Resource Management in Pastoral Africa," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 12(1), pages 5-28, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael Brüntrup & Fabian Schwarz & Thomas Absmayr & Jonas Dylla & Franziska Eckhard & Kerstin Remke & Konrad Sternisko, 2018. "Nucleus-outgrower schemes as an alternative to traditional smallholder agriculture in Tanzania – strengths, weaknesses and policy requirements," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(4), pages 807-826, August.
    2. Giorgia Giovannetti & Elisa Ticci, 2013. "Biofuel Development and Large-Scale Land Deals in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers - Economics wp2013_27.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    3. Giger, Markus & Mutea, Emily & Kiteme, Boniface & Eckert, Sandra & Anseeuw, Ward & Zaehringer, Julie G., 2020. "Large agricultural investments in Kenya’s Nanyuki Area: Inventory and analysis of business models," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    4. Kleemann, Linda & Thiele, Rainer, 2015. "Rural welfare implications of large-scale land acquisitions in Africa: A theoretical framework," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 269-279.
    5. Romy Santpoort, 2020. "The Drivers of Maize Area Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa. How Policies to Boost Maize Production Overlook the Interests of Smallholder Farmers," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-13, February.
    6. Post Lori & Schmitz Andrew & Issa Tariq & Oehmke James, 2021. "Enabling the Environment for Private Sector Investment: Impact on Food Security and Poverty," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 19(1), pages 25-37, May.
    7. Chamberlin, Jordan & Jayne, T. S., 2017. "Farmland Concentration And Rural Income Growth: Evidence From Tanzania," Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Papers 265608, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security (FSP).
    8. Marcello De Maria, 2019. "Understanding Land in the Context of Large-Scale Land Acquisitions: A Brief History of Land in Economics," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, January.
    9. Nolte, Kerstin & Voget-Kleschin, Lieske, 2014. "Consultation in Large-Scale Land Acquisitions: An Evaluation of Three Cases in Mali," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 654-668.
    10. William G. Martin & Ravi Arvind Palat, 2014. "Asian Land Acquisitions in Africa: Beyond the ‘New Bandung’ or a ‘New Colonialism’?," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 3(1), pages 125-150, April.
    11. Margherita Scoppola & Margherita Scoppola, 2016. "Foreign Direct Investments and trade in agriculture: an incomplete contracts approach," FOODSECURE Working papers 49, LEI Wageningen UR.
    12. Elisabeth Hettig & Jann Lay & Kacana Sipangule, 2016. "Drivers of Households’ Land-Use Decisions: A Critical Review of Micro-Level Studies in Tropical Regions," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-32, October.
    13. Maria Cipollina & Nadia Cuffaro & Giovanna D’Agostino, 2018. "Land Inequality and Economic Growth: A Meta-Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-20, December.
    14. Conigliani, Caterina & Cuffaro, Nadia & D’Agostino, Giovanna, 2018. "Large-scale land investments and forests in Africa," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 651-660.
    15. Ayodele F. Odusola, 2014. "Land Grab in Africa: A Review of Emerging Issues and Implications for Policy Options," Working Papers 124, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    16. German, Laura A. & Bonanno, Anya M. & Foster, Laura Catherine & Cotula, Lorenzo, 2020. "“Inclusive business” in agriculture: Evidence from the evolution of agricultural value chains," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    17. Ward Anseeuw & Thomas Jayne & Richard Kachule & John Kotsopoulos, 2016. "The Quiet Rise of Medium-Scale Farms in Malawi," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-22, June.
    18. Alden Wily Liz, 2014. "The Law and Land Grabbing: Friend or Foe?," The Law and Development Review, De Gruyter, vol. 7(2), pages 207-242, December.
    19. Praveen Jha & Paris Yeros, 2019. "Global Agricultural Value Systems and the South: Some Critical Issues at the Current Juncture," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 8(1-2), pages 14-29, April.
    20. Krukowska, Monika, 2013. "European investors and land acquisitions in Sub-Saharan Africa," Problems of World Agriculture / Problemy Rolnictwa Światowego, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, vol. 13(28), pages 1-11, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:48:y:2013:i:c:p:1-18. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.