Despite growing research on land deals in Ethiopia, there is still uncertainty on the real scale and features of the phenomenon, and some misperceptions continue to shape public debates. Report discusses the findings of a systematic inventory of land deals for agricultural investment in Ethiopia. It describes the scale, geography, drivers and key features of large-scale deals. It also discusses findings relating to the early outcomes of the deals.

International investment treaties are an important part of the legal frameworks governing foreign investment. This report measures the extent to which they apply to agribusiness investments initiated as part of the recent wave of large-scale land deals in low and middle-income countries. It finds that 70% of ‘land grab’ deals worldwide are protected by at least one investment treaty. Public action to terminate, renegotiate or regulate land deals could expose states to the risk of treaty-based arbitration claims.

Investors often look for land with a high growing potential, which means land with lots of rainfall or land that can be irrigated. In multimillion dollar investments involving irrigation, investors typically want to secure water rights as part of the deal. Motivated by potential revenues from water fees and the prospect of improved agricultural productivity, many African governments are signing away water rights for decades to large investors. But they are doing so with little regard for how this will impact the millions of other users whose livelihoods depend on customary access to water.

Summary: Includes land acquisitions continue to be an important trend; a need for this new, updated report; agricultural land acquisitions are increasingly becoming operational; food crops dominate but also palm oil and fuel crops; Africa is the most targeted continent; large diversity in origin of investors; land acquisitions often target relatively highly populated areas dominated by croplands; local communities are often bypassed in negotiations, limited information on displacement and compensation; a need for further monitoring.

Includes how much land is being acquired, and by whom?; over the heads of local people: who are the parties to the deal?; the economic disequilibrium of the contract: what resources, in exchange for what?; what safeguards for local people and the environment?; discussion. Drawing on legal analysis of 12 land deals from different parts of Africa, discusses the contractual issues for which public scrutiny is most needed, and aims to promote informed public debate about them.

Covers world agriculture, a changing context; scale and geography of the phenomenon, key players; the nature of the land deals, process and terms; implications for local land access; conclusion and recommendations.

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 that a recent wave of large-scale land acquisitions in Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America has sparked a major debate. The briefing provides an analysis of this complex and shifting situation, focusing on Africa.

The recent wave of land deals for agribusiness investments has highlighted the widespread demand for greater accountability in the governance of land and investment. Legal frameworks influence opportunities for accountability, and recourse to law has featured prominently in grassroots responses to the land deals. Drawing on comparative socio-legal research in Cameroon, Ghana and Senegal, this report explores how the law enables, or constrains, accountability in investment processes.

Large-scale land acquisitions can have lasting repercussions for the future of agriculture, including both agribusiness and family farming. Rather than rushing into land deals, governments and investors should properly consider the wider range of options to invest in agriculture. In many parts of the world, family farmers have proved efficient and dynamic. Working with them can generate healthy returns, avoid the risks associated with land acquisitions, and improve farmers’ livelihoods.

Celebrates the launching of OpenLandContracts, an international repository of land deals created in response to the general lack of transparency surrounding such deals. The contracts are annotated to help users navigate them.

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.