A new study suggests the effects of large-scale land acquisitions are detrimental to food security and the livelihood of smallholder farmers.
The 2007-2008 global food crises, caused by escalating oil prices; a greater request for biofuels and trade decisions, triggered an increased demand for fertile land and has resulted in internationally listed companies, investment funds and private investors entering into large-scale land acquisition deals – particularly in Africa.
According to Land Matrix, an independent land monitoring initiative, the continent accounts for 34% of the globally acquired land for agricultural purposes. Politics has propagated large-scale land acquisitions as a vital strategy for Africa’s rural development and modernising the continent’s agricultural sector. However, the study Effects of large-scale acquisitions in Africa on selected economic and social indicators published in April 2021 revealed only 11% of the area under contract in these deals is farmed. Individual large-scale land acquisition farms comprise more than 200 hectares.
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