Smallholder agriculture is the mainstay of rural households in developing countries. In recent years, smallholder agriculture has been affected by the surge in large-scale farms that have acquired land in rural regions of developing countries as well as by rapid rural land-use conversion. Very few empirical studies analyze how rural development is affected by the encounter of smallholder and large-scale farming systems. This dissertation contributes to filling this research gap by analyzing how smallholders are affected by large-scale farms. Results presented in the chapters 2 to 5 of this ...

Smallholder agriculture is the mainstay of rural households in developing countries. In recent years, smallholder agriculture has been affected by the surge in large-scale farms that have acquired land in rural regions of developing countries as well as by rapid rural land-use conversion. Very few empirical studies analyze how rural development is affected by the encounter of smallholder and large-scale farming systems. This dissertation contributes to filling this research gap by analyzing how smallholders are affected by large-scale farms. Results presented in the chapters 2 to 5 of this ...

Large-scale land acquisitions, or ‘land grabbing’, has become a key research topic among scholars interested in agrarian change, development, and the environment. The term ‘land acquisitions’ refers to a highly contested process in terms of governance and impacts on livelihoods and human rights. This book focuses on South-East Asia. A series of thematic and in-depth case studies put ‘land grabbing’ into specific historical and institutional contexts. The volume also offers a human rights analysis of the phenomenon, examining the potential and limits of human rights mechanisms aimed at preventing and mitigating land grabs' negative consequences. Contributors include: Maria Lisa Alano, Ioana Cismas, Olivier De Schutter, Michael Dwyer, Christophe Gironde, Christophe Golay, Andreas Heinimann, Martin Keulertz, Marcel Mazoyer, Peter Messerli, Hafiz Mirza, Vong Nanhthavong, Gerben Nooteboom, Patricia Paramita, Amaury Peeters, Emily Polack, Laurence Roudart, Oliver Schoenweger, Gilda Senties, Sokbunthoeun So, Mohamad Shohibuddin, William Speller, Eckart Woertz, and James Zhan.

The recent influx of agricultural investment to Africa is increasingly equated with land grabbing by investors from emerging and Northern economies seeking to produce commodities to serve the needs of their own food and energy markets. This paper reflects on this discourse by unpacking agricultural investments in Mozambique – one of the largest recipients of agricultural investment in Africa. By drawing on official investment data and structured interviews conducted with 69 agricultural investors in Mozambique, this paper analyzes agricultural investment trends, characteristics and the factors that shape investors’ social and environmental conduct. It illustrates that, contrary to popular depiction, regional investors, domestic food end-markets, and private finance are the primary drivers of investment. Moreover, this paper shows that investors differ significantly in the types of strategies, business models and practices they adopt. The findings highlight a lack of nuance in the global agricultural investment discourse and the need for more evidence-based policy intervention in order to adequately leverage the potential of agricultural investments to contribute to inclusive green growth.

This paper studies the determinants of foreign land acquisition for large-scale agriculture. To do so, gravity models are estimated using data on bilateral investment relationships, together with newly constructed indicators of agro-ecological suitability in areas with low population density as well as indicators of land rights security. Results confirm the central role of agro-ecological potential as a pull factor. In contrast to the literature on foreign investment in general, the quality of the business climate is insignificant whereas weak land governance and tenure security for current users make countries more attractive for investors. Implications for policy are discussed.

Four other themes will addressed: politics, economics, the environment and the history of land investments in sub-Saharan Africa.

The last two years have seen a huge amount of academic, policy-making and media interest in the increasingly contentious issue of land grabbing - the large-scale acquisition of land in the global South. It is a phenomenon against which locals seem defenceless, and one about which multilateral organizations, such as the World Bank, as well as civil-society organizations and action NGOs have become increasingly vocal. This in-depth and empirically diverse volume - taking in case studies from across Africa, Asia and Latin America - takes a step back from the hype to explore a number of key questions: Does the 'global land grab' actually exist? If so, what is new about it? And what, beyond the immediately visible dynamics and practices, are the real problems? A comprehensive and much-needed intervention on one of the most hotly contested but little-understood issues facing countries of the South today.