land-grabbing

This publication addresses the future challenges and opportunities for the management and restoration of land resources in the context of sustainable development. The current pressures on land are huge and expected to continue growing. It is clear that the next few decades will be the most critical in shaping and implementing a new and transformative global land agenda. »

This briefing explores the increased pressure on rural land and livelihoods in Ghana due to competition for land an changes in land governance. In Ghana 70 per cent of the population are smallholder farmers who depend on the land for their basic needs. »

This article argues that participatory land governance and consultation processes need follow-up mechanisms since new actors, claims and strategies emerge after consent has been reached. In the study area Massingir, Mozambique, foreign private and domestic investments in the agribusiness, tourism, and conservation sectors in the district have been on the rise. This resulted in events that scholars and activists have come to describe as land, water, and green grabs. »

This PhD dissertation examines the impacts of large-scale farming in Ethiopia on local economic development, household food security, incomes, employment, and the environment. The study concluded that the approach of large-scale mechanized farming contributes little to the economic and agricultural transformation of the nation. Local people generally lose out in respect of land transactions and investments, and they are expropriated from their customary land rights to the benefit of national goals. »

This report provides detailed information on who is buying up farmland in which regions of the world and how this land is being used. It also elaborates on differences in food security impacts of land deals in different countries. Food crops continue to play the major role in land deals. The report explains that food security impact is distinct in two group of countries. »

Last article in the IYS 2015 series. Land rights and investments in soil improvement are closely related. Land-owners or long-term tenants are definitely willing to invest in soil fertility and erosion prevention, but land ownership or tenancy alone is not a panacea. »