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Reconciling food and water security objectives of MENA and sub-Saharan Africa: is there a role for large-scale agricultural investments?

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  • Timothy Williams

Abstract

The attainment of food and water security rank high on the agendas of governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although the objectives are similar, the underlying drivers, resource endowments and opportunities for achieving them are different. Differences between two regions in natural resource endowment and investment capital stock can, in theory, lead to mutually beneficial trade to achieve desired objectives. Concerns about the recent food crises coupled with the disparity in land and water endowment and investable capital between MENA and SSA have led in recent years to investment in agricultural land in the latter by a number of MENA countries with the aim of producing food. At the same time, many SSA countries seek these investments to infuse capital, technology and know-how into their agricultural sector to improve productivity, food security and rural livelihoods. However, these recent foreign direct agricultural investments have to date performed poorly or have been abandoned without achieving the initial objectives of setting them up. Based on research conducted in selected sub-Saharan countries, this paper analyses the reasons for the failure of these investments. It then reviews a few successful agricultural investments by private sector companies with a long history of operation in SSA. Juxtaposing lessons distilled from failed and successful case studies, the paper argues that large-scale agricultural investments that take advantage of this accumulated knowledge are needed and do have a critical role to play. Such investments, when they also incorporate ecosystems management practices and smallholder inclusive business models in their operations, can serve as appropriate instruments to reconcile the food and water security objectives of both the MENA region and SSA, while promoting sustainable intensification of agriculture and improved rural livelihoods in SSA. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and International Society for Plant Pathology 2015

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  • Timothy Williams, 2015. "Reconciling food and water security objectives of MENA and sub-Saharan Africa: is there a role for large-scale agricultural investments?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(6), pages 1199-1209, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:7:y:2015:i:6:p:1199-1209
    DOI: 10.1007/s12571-015-0508-z
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    2. Enock Warinda & Dickson M Nyariki & Stephen Wambua & Reuben M Muasya & Munir A Hanjra, 2020. "Sustainable development in East Africa: impact evaluation of regional agricultural development projects in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(1), pages 3-39, February.
    3. F. Jorge Bornemann & David P. Rowell & Barbara Evans & Dan J. Lapworth & Kamazima Lwiza & David M.J. Macdonald & John H. Marsham & Kindie Tesfaye & Matthew J. Ascott & Celia Way, 2019. "Future changes and uncertainty in decision-relevant measures of East African climate," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 365-384, October.
    4. Warinda, Enock & Nyariki, Dickson M. & Wambua, Stephen & Muasya, Reuben, 2019. "Impact of smallholder farmers’ welfare through participation in on-farm regional projects in East Africa," Agrekon, Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), vol. 59(1), August.
    5. Xiaoyu Jiang & Yangfen Chen, 2020. "The Potential of Absorbing Foreign Agricultural Investment to Improve Food Security in Developing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-19, March.
    6. Eckart Woertz & Martin Keulertz, 2015. "Food trade relations of the Middle East and North Africa with tropical countries," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(6), pages 1101-1111, December.
    7. Jordan Blekking & Dalal Aassouli & Ray Jureidini, 2024. "Food security and large-scale land acquisitions by sovereign wealth funds: a systematic review of the literature from 2012 to 2023," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, December.

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