“Large scale land investments” and “land grabbing” are the terms most commonly used to describe the rising global trend where foreign and local agribusinesses, mining corporations, governments, and investment houses obtain long term rights over large areas of land. Perhaps the most famous of these is the attempt by the Daewoo Group of South Korea to lease 1.3 million hectares, or more than half of the productive agricultural lands of Madagascar, in Africa.

The purpose of this assignment was to establish whether there is appetite to hold a public debate on how to realise better land‐based investments in Tanzania. It also aimed at identifying what would be the discussion issues and most appropriate mechanism to allow different actors from different levels to articulate their perspectives on land‐based investments in Tanzania. This has been triggered by the sensitivity surrounding the topic.

In early 2008 the government of Tanzania through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development –MLHHSD, initiated a project to develop a new city at Kigamboni area in Temeke district of Dar es Salaam region. The reasons behind the decision were many but the most important factor was that the move would provide solutions to mitigate the urbanization problems of Dar es Salaam and its environs.

This document presents a set of guiding principles that promote to responsible contract farming operations. It is intended to serve as guidance for farmers and buyers engaged in contractual relationships, in order to promote good business practices and maintain an atmosphere of trust and respect that is essential if contract farming is to prove effective.

Land is a scarce resource increasingly affected by the competition of mutually exclusive uses. Fertile land in rural areas becomes scarcer due to population growth, pollution, erosion and desertification, effects of climate change, urbanization etc. On the remaining land, local, national and international users with different socioeconomic status and power compete to achieve food security, economic growth, energy supply, nature conservation and other objectives. Land use planning can help to find a balance among these competing and sometimes contradictory uses.

This is a Land Lease Agreement posted on OpenLandContracts.org. It lists Cotton as the primary resource(s)

This is a Contrat de Concession Forestière posted on OpenLandContracts.org. It lists Timber (Wood) as the primary resource(s)

This is a Social Agreement posted on OpenLandContracts.org. It lists Timber (Wood) as the primary resource(s)

Wildlife is one of Kenya’s greatest natural resource and is the foundation upon which nature-based tourism is based. However, it is one resource that is in constant danger of extinction as burgeoning populations and animals fight for limited space In addition, poaching has greatly reduced wildlife populations in the absence of adequate policies to manage consumptive utilisation that would generate benefits for communities living with wildlife.

This is a Social Agreement posted on OpenLandContracts.org. It lists Timber (Wood) as the primary resource(s)

This is a Land Lease Agreement posted on OpenLandContracts.org. It lists Groundnuts as the primary resource(s)

On 23rd of January the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has launched a new position paper on large scale investment in land and its implication on development policies. Objective of the position paper is to reflect the recent dynamics. Currently the paper is available in German only.