A new study by SNV and the Royal Tropical Institute analyzes the trend of land grabbing in West Africa, where domestic actors have developed a sudden interest in farming. High-level policy makers have begun to address foreign acquisition of rural lands as domestic investment in farmland is on the rise in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Proponents of this trend claim that new investors will “modernize and professionalize farming,” but in practice land grabbing threatens the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and fails to produce food in an environmentally and socially sustainable way.
By Thea Hillhorst, Joost Nelen, and Nata Traore
SNV World
April 2011
To view the report, click here.
