To better understand the context in which it operates, Legal Tools generates knowledge on trends, drivers and impacts in natural resource investment. Our efforts have so far focused on large-scale land acquisitions for agricultural investments, working with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and with partners in Africa.

Land grab or development opportunity?

For many millions in the developing world, land is central to livelihoods, food security, even identity — the natural result of a direct dependence on agriculture and natural resources. It is not surprising, then, that a recent wave of large-scale land acquisitions in poorer countries has sparked a major debate.

Through these acquisitions, interests in richer countries are buying or leasing large tracts of farmland for agricultural investment in Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

With some deals involving hundreds of thousands of hectares, these investments have been dubbed ‘land grabs’ by the media. However, depending on the way they are structured, these investments can either create new opportunities to improve local living standards, or further marginalise the poor.

Our research on this issue identifies key trends and drivers, analyses the main features and early impacts of land acquisitions, and develops ways to make the renewed momentum in agricultural investment work for local development and livelihoods.

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Biofuels, land access and rural livelihoods in Mozambique

In recent years, global demand for biofuels has increased as a result of changing oil prices coupled with concerns over energy security and climate change. In Mozambique, private investors have expressed growing interest in biofuel production. While this trend may create new livelihood opportunities, it may also undermine access to land and natural resources for rural people.

This report explores the early impacts of the biofuels boom on access to land and on local livelihoods in Mozambique. It draws on fieldwork on biofuel projects representing different business models for agricultural production.

Biofuels, land access and rural livelihoods in Tanzania

During the past several years, biofuels in rich countries have come to be regarded as an important option for reducing consumption of petroleum, which is a main policy goal as a result of recent high oil prices, energy security concerns, and global climate change. The use and development of alternative sources of energy are increasingly encouraged in western countries, and private and public sources of financial support for biofuels development have increased greatly. For African countries, this is leading to growing interest from western and Asian private investors in biofuels projects, as well as growing support from development partners for incorporating biofuels into government policies and development plans. For African countries which are non-oil producers, biofuel production has the potential to provide a substitute for costly oil imports which are one of the major uses of foreign exchange and sources of inflation in African economies, and to provide a new source of agricultural income in rural areas. Tanzania is one of the African countries which have seen a rapid increase in biofuel production and investment proposals during the past several years. The purpose of this report is to describe existing patterns of biofuel development and crop cultivation in Tanzanian rural areas in order to improve the understanding of how these various potential threats and opportunities from biofuels expansion are playing out in reality.

'Land Grabs' in Africa: can the deals work for development?

For many millions in the developing world, land is central to livelihoods, food security, even identity – the result of a direct dependence on agriculture and natural resources. It is not surprising, then, that a recent wave of large-scale land acquisitions in poorer countries has sparked a major debate. Through these acquisitions, interests in richer countries are buying or leasing large tracts of farmland for agricultural investment in Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. With some deals involving hundreds of thousands of hectares, these investments have been dubbed ‘land grabs’ by the media. But this is too simplistic. Depending on the way they are structured, these investments can either create new opportunities to improve local living standards, or further marginalise the poor. An analysis of this complex and shifting situation, focusing on Africa, lays out key trends, drivers and main features, and outlines how to make the renewed momentum in agricultural investment work for local development and livelihoods.

Land grab or development opportunity? Agricultural investment and international land deals in Africa

Large-scale acquisitions of farmland in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia are making headlines in a flurry of media reports across the world. Lands that only a short time ago seemed of little outside interest are now being sought by international investors by the tune of hundreds of thousands of hectares. And while a failed attempt to lease 1.3 million hectares in Madagascar has attracted much media attention, deals reported in the international press constitute the tip of the iceberg.

Despite the spate of media reports and rare published research, international land deals and their impacts still remain little understood. This report is a step towards filling this gap. The outcome of a collaboration between IIED, FAO and IFAD, the report discusses key trends and drivers in land acquisitions, the contractual arrangements underpinning them and the way these are negotiated, and the early impacts on land access for rural people in recipient countries. While international land deals are emerging as a global phenomenon, this report focuses on sub-Saharan Africa.

The report draws on a literature review, on qualitative interviews with key informants internationally, on national inventories of ongoing and proposed land acquisitions since 2004 in five African countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali and Sudan) and qualitative studies in Mozambique and Tanzania, and on legal analysis of national law and of a small sample of investor-state contracts.

PRESS RELEASE: First detailed study of large land acquisitions in Africa warns of impacts on poor rural people