'Scramble' for African land should be monitored

With climate change already reducing the effective use of marginal land, land-based foreign direct investment is seen as a critical issue. While some welcome opportunities presented by foreign direct investment in African land, others are alarmed by what seems like a new "scramble" for post-colonial, post-independence Africa.

According to African Union Commission's Dr Abebe Haile-Gabriel, land-based foreign direct investment was among issues addressed by the African Development Bank and various stakeholders as they set out - back in 2009 - to formulate principles regarding land issues and challenges, framework and guidelines on land policy in Africa. Ken Johm from the African Development Bank told Allafrica.com that the Pan-African Parliament's good legislative framework should be supported by national legislation - "creating a triple-win for government, the community and the investor."

Two resolutions at a Pan-African Parliament seminar earlier in 2011 called, firstly, for a moratorium on all land deals currently being negotiated; and - secondly - that parliamentarians should be empowered to review and repeal unbalanced contracts, reports Allafrica.com. "Between 2001 and 2011, 227 million hectares of land was acquired in the developing world, mostly ... in sub-Saharan Africa," said Oxfam's Mohamet Lamine Ndiaye, adding "[t]his is when the financial crisis hit. Food prices also rose, contributing to civil unrest in Africa and elsewhere." Foreign investors shrewdly target prime land with good access to another scarce African resource, water. African land is also bought to capitalise on foreign biofuels incentives. Such interest attracts speculators, too, who invest in land for future resale.

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