Logrando que las inversiones trabajen para África: Una Respuesta Parlamentaria al “Acaparamiento de Tierras”

This report documents a seminar held by the Pan-African Parliament in July 2011 regarding foreign investment in African agricultural land and water, often termed "land grabbing." It examines the drivers of these investments, their negative impacts on local communities and human rights, and the legal frameworks governing them. The document provides recommendations for parliamentarians to increase transparency, reform land tenure, and ensure that investments benefit local populations through inclusive business models and genuine community consultation.

• A significant wave of foreign land acquisitions in Africa was triggered in 2008 by global factors including the demand for biofuels in North America and Europe, oil price spikes, and global food and financial crises. The World Bank reported that land deals in Africa exceeded 32 million hectares in 2009 alone, with the largest allocations occurring in Sudan (4 million hectares), Mozambique (2.7 million hectares), Liberia (1.6 million hectares), and Ethiopia (between 1.3 and 3.6 million hectares).
• Foreign investments in African land are often driven by the need for water, with projects clustering around the Congo, Niger, and Senegal River basins. Some water-scarce nations use foreign cultivation to externalize their water use, effectively meaning Africa subsidizes the water needs of other countries, often for free, while facing its own resource scarcity and population growth.
• There are three primary types of investors in African agricultural land: cash-rich but food-insecure states (particularly in Asia and the Gulf) using sovereign wealth funds; traditional Western agribusinesses; and financial sector actors such as pension funds and private shareholders. The latter group often engages in highly speculative behavior; for instance, Oxfam preliminary studies in Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia, and Tanzania indicate that less than 12% of investor-acquired land has been put into production.
• Large-scale land investments frequently result in negative impacts, including the undermining of land rights, a total lack of transparency in contracts, and the displacement of farmers and pastoralists. Investors often target countries with weak land laws, creating a power asymmetry during negotiations. Furthermore, these projects rarely fulfill promises regarding job creation, technology transfer, or infrastructure development, and often lack coherence with national poverty reduction strategies.
• Women in sub-Saharan Africa are disproportionately affected by land grabbing due to weaker occupancy rights and exclusion from decision-making forums. Displacement increases pressure on their already fragile land rights and undermines their role as subsistence food producers. Research from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) indicates women rely heavily on public resources like water and forests, which are primary targets for investors.
• Legal frameworks for foreign investment often prioritize investor interests over local rights. While domestic law is the primary resource, it is often weak. Investment contracts may include 'stabilization clauses' that freeze domestic laws at the time of signing, potentially preventing governments from implementing new environmental or labor laws without compensating the investor. International bilateral investment treaties further protect investors through investor-state arbitration.
• The report suggests moving toward inclusive business models—such as joint ventures, contract farming, and farmer-owned enterprises—to ensure a more equitable distribution of capital and resources. These models can reduce conflict and reinforce local land and water rights by negotiating directly with the population, although they may involve higher transaction costs and difficulty achieving economies of scale.
• Parliamentarians are urged to act as guardians of the public good by demanding contract transparency, introducing legislation for free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), and monitoring the implementation of the Maputo Declaration's goal to allocate 10% of national budgets to agriculture. The report recommends a potential moratorium on large-scale land acquisitions until proper governance frameworks are established.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2011). Logrando que las inversiones trabajen para África: Una Respuesta Parlamentaria al “Acaparamiento de Tierras”. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/land_grabs_africa_es.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Logrando que las inversiones trabajen para África: Una Respuesta Parlamentaria al “Acaparamiento de Tierras”. 2011. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/land_grabs_africa_es.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Logrando que las inversiones trabajen para África: Una Respuesta Parlamentaria al “Acaparamiento de Tierras” |date=October 2011 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/land_grabs_africa_es.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2011logrando, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Logrando que las inversiones trabajen para África: Una Respuesta Parlamentaria al “Acaparamiento de Tierras”}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2011}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/land_grabs_africa_es.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }