Why do large-scale agricultural investments induce different socio-economic, food security, and environmental impacts? Evidence from Kenya, Madagascar, and Mozambique

Ecology and Society: a journal of integrative science for resilience and sustainability

article

Christoph Oberlack¹  Markus Giger¹  Ward Anseeuw³  Camilla Adelle³  Magalie Bourblanc³  Perrine Burnod³  Sandra Eckert¹  Wegayehu Fitawek⁶  Eve Fouilleux³  Sheryl L. Hendriks⁶  Boniface Kiteme⁹  Livhuwani Masola⁶  Zaka Diana Mawoko⁶  Sara Mercandalli³  Aurélien Reys³  Maya da Silva^1,10  Michael van der Laan^1,10  Julie G. Zaehringer¹  Peter Messerli² 

[1] Centre for Development and Environment ,(CDE), University of Bern;Institute of Geography, University of Bern;French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development;International Land Coalition;Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation, University of Pretoria;Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development and the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Well-being, University of Pretoria;Malagasy Land Observatory;UMR LISIS ,(University of Paris-Est Marne la Valle);Centre for Training and Integrated Research in ASAL Development;Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria;Wyss Academy for Nature, University of Bern

关键词: agricultural investments;    business models;    environment;    food security;    governance;    land use change;    livelihoods;   

DOI  :  10.5751/ES-12653-260418

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Resilience Alliance Publications

【 摘 要 】

Large-scale agricultural investments (LAIs) transform land use systems worldwide. There is, however, limited understanding about how the common global drivers of land use change induce different forms of agricultural investment and produce different impacts on the ground. This article provides a cross-country comparative analysis of how differences in business models, land use changes, and governance systems explain differences in socio-economic, food security, and environmental impacts of LAIs in Kenya, Madagascar, and Mozambique. It brings together results on these aspects generated in the AFGROLAND project that collected data in a multi-method approach via household surveys, business model surveys, semi-structured household interviews, life-cycle assessments of farm production, analysis of remote-sensing data, key informant interviews, and document analysis. For the present project synthesis, we combined a collaborative expert workshop with a comparative analysis of 16 LAIs. The results show that the LAIs follow four distinctive impact patterns, ranging from widespread adverse impacts to moderate impacts. Results demonstrate how the following conditions influence how the global drivers of land use change translate into different LAIs and different impacts on the ground: labor intensity, prior land use, utilization of land, farm size, type of production, experience in local agriculture, land tenure security, accountability of state and local elites, the mobilization capacity of civil society, expansion of resource frontiers, agricultural intensification, and indirect land use change. The results indicate that commercial agriculture can be a component in sustainable development strategies under certain conditions, but that these strategies will fail without substantial, sustained increases in the economic viability and inclusiveness of smallholder agriculture, land tenure security, agro-ecological land management, and support for broader patterns of endogenous agrarian transformation.

【 授权许可】

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