Despite the spate of media reports, international land deals and their impacts remain little understood. 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. The focus is on sub-Saharan Africa, with an emphasis on Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Sudan, Mozambique and Tanzania. Concludes with recommendations for stakeholders.

Examines 3 case studies of proposed biofuel developments in Mozambique and Sierra Leone in terms of social displacement. More mitigation measures could provide livelihood restitution and avoid negative food security impacts.

Includes the predicaments, concerns and challenges faced by rural women – commercialization of natural resources, how rural women value land, from ‘women’s crops’ to ‘men’s crops’, plantation economies and rural women, the water factor, women are not parties to the deal. Towards solutions for rural women, invest in local food systems, women’s rights to land, build toward collective action. Conclusions and recommendations.

Having listened to the presentations, encourage communities to continue to assert their rights. Noted a failure of governance and lack of good democratic practice. Consultation processes have been abused, promises not fulfilled, women not involved in decision making, there is a critical need for greater openness and transparency in all land deals. Make a number of recommendations to African governments and calls on investors to ensure that women’s voices and interests are heard and heeded in all decision making.

Looking at several large-scale land deals in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, this documentary film highlights the nuanced impacts of these investments. Small-scale farmers and producers, national government officials, and African policy-makers unpack the deals, showing that there are winners and losers when providing investors access to large tracts of land in Africa. For example, land deals impact differently on women and youth, and altering land regimes also impacts on access to other natural resources such as water, fish, and local indigenous vegetables.

Dramatic changes are underway in Southern Africa, with growing interest by foreign and domestic investors to access land for farming, mining and other commercial operations. This book of case studies documents situations in which commercial projects are planned or are being implemented on land held by rural communities in Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It aims to provide an accessible and vivid window into the lived realities, views and responses of rural people who are affected by such deals.

Comments on the IDRC workshop on LSLAs and accountability in Africa, Dakar, 24-25 November 2015. The current IDRC programme supports 5 action research projects across 10 countries in West, East and Southern Africa. They investigate how to build accountability over land governance. This requires a multi-level strategy at both policy and community level. The most contentious debate was about valuation, benefit-sharing and compensation because compensation almost always fails to take full account of the real value of natural resources in people’s lives.

Current land grabbing in Africa very worrying and carries strong echoes of era of Cecil Rhodes. Land deals being done in secret, myth of much vacant land, willing consent of many African leaders. Biofuels moving from miracle cure to a problem. Some positive experiences in Tanzania. Need for imaginative thinking and action.

How should African politicians respond to the ‘land rush’? Parliamentarians from the member states of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) met in mid-November to debate this question. Includes a collective response to agriculture and food security is needed, what land deals are underway in Central Africa?; investment and production, but for which markets?; impacts of land deals on Africa farmers; can Africa help secure the world’s food supply?; transparency isa precondition for inclusive investments; what should be done?

Includes a broader view of the global land grab; Southern Africa: under-utilised and opening up for business?; biofuels everywhere, but not enough to eat; extractive industries: mining and forestry; reversals and state capitalism in Zimbabwe; the next Great Trek? South Africans head north; where is the food?; towards a typology; reflecting on these trends: what fresh insights?; conclusions.

Reflections following the passing of the African Union’s Guiding Principles on Large-Scale Land-Based Investment, the culmination of policy processes over the past decade. Rising food prices reflect the systematic neglect of agriculture over a long period. We need indicators and monitoring, cannot rely on technology to resolve political problems, need a system-wide approach and to create opportunities for young people to build livelihoods in farming and throughout the agro-food system.

The Land Matrix, from which this report was produced, is an online public database of large-scale land deals. Report covers global overview – the rush for land for agriculture, where are investments targeted?, investors and investor countries, learning more about the drivers, processes and impacts: how land deals are implemented, bibliography.