Euclides Gonçalves: Corridors Miniseries–Agricultural Commercialisation along Mozambique’s Growth Corridors Blog

Euclides Gonçalves: Corridors Miniseries–Agricultural Commercialisation along Mozambique’s Growth Corridors

People cannot eat gas, oil or coal Since he took office in 2015, president Filipe Nyusi has sought to redirect the attention of Mozambicans, from the prospect of wealth associated with the exploration of natural resources, to increasing agricultural production and productivity. In his words: “the people do not eat gas, oil or eat coal.” Along the Beira and Nacala…
PLAAS
January 21, 2020
Emmanuel Sulle: Corridors Miniseries: Accumulation and Contested Commercialisation in Tanzania BlogUncategorized

Emmanuel Sulle: Corridors Miniseries: Accumulation and Contested Commercialisation in Tanzania

Tanzania, like many other African countries, needs significant investment in agriculture to achieve key development goals—poverty alleviation, economic growth and industrialisation, food security and improved nutrition. Since the late 2000s, the Tanzanian government, in partnership with donor agencies and the private sector, launched several initiatives, including the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT). This is a public-private partnership aimed…
PLAAS
January 21, 2020
Ngala Chome: Corridors Miniseries–Anticipating Lamu’s New Corridor on Kenya’s Coast Blog

Ngala Chome: Corridors Miniseries–Anticipating Lamu’s New Corridor on Kenya’s Coast

The day starts early in Lamu, an ancient archipelago on Kenya’s northern coast. Fishermen, sailors and boat makers can be seen striding towards the sea, where moon-powered tides and sea waves are the undisputed masters. Hours later, their skiffs return from the shallow waters surrounding the mouth of the archipelago on Manda and Pate islands. They approach the main island,…
PLAAS
January 21, 2020
Ngala Chome et al.: Corridors Miniseries –The Political Economy of Agricultural Growth Corridors in Eastern Africa BlogUncategorized

Ngala Chome et al.: Corridors Miniseries –The Political Economy of Agricultural Growth Corridors in Eastern Africa

Words by Ngala Chome, Euclides Gonsalves, Ian Scoones and Emmanuel Sulle A new wave of agricultural commercialisation is being promoted across Africa’s eastern seaboard, by a broad range of influential actors—from international corporations to domestic political and business elites. Growth corridors, linking infrastructure development, mining and agriculture for export, are central to this, and are generating a new spatial politics as…
Esté Beerwinkel
January 21, 2020
Ian Scoones: Rural support for authoritarian populism is strong—but another way is possible Blog

Ian Scoones: Rural support for authoritarian populism is strong—but another way is possible

The rise of authoritarian populism continues. Now the UK has a fully signed-up version in its new right-wing government, with allies in Trump, Modi, Bolsarano, Orban and others. It is a dangerous, but perhaps inevitable, trend. The soul-searching on the Left after the UK election rather belatedly diagnosed the problem. It has been long in the making—the result of sustained…
Esté Beerwinkel
January 15, 2020
Elite capture in land redistribution: Winners and losers Blog

Elite capture in land redistribution: Winners and losers

Farai Mtero It has become widely accepted across different sectors of society that South Africa’s land reform has fallen short of expectations.  There is growing public impatience with the slow pace of land reform—government has fallen woefully short of the targets it has set itself for land transfer. In response, activists and politicians have made proposals to amend the constitution…
PLAAS
December 3, 2019
Moenieba Isaacs: Blue Justice for small-scale fisheries BlogFeatured BlogUncategorized

Moenieba Isaacs: Blue Justice for small-scale fisheries

Words by Moenieba Isaacs The Blue Economy development agenda raises a myriad of red flags relating to the issues small-scale fisheries face. Small-scale fisheries contribute to food security, poverty eradication, sustaining ecosystems, supporting local communities and livelihoods, and promoting cultural inheritance. The Blue Economy development agenda for coastal, lakes, and marine protected zones looks to protect and restore the ocean’s…
Esté Beerwinkel
July 23, 2019
Emmanuel Sulle: Lack of policy implementation holds back women’s land rights in Africa BlogUncategorizedWomen's Land Rights

Emmanuel Sulle: Lack of policy implementation holds back women’s land rights in Africa

Words by Emmanuel Sulle For many African countries, the lack of proper implementation of existing policies, laws and programmes hold back women’s rights to access, use, control, and own land. Speaking to members of parliament during the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Learning Exchange in Kigali, Rwanda, it was argued that the high levels of illiteracy among their…
PLAAS
July 19, 2019
Mnqobi Ngubane: Immigrant farm workers on land reform farms in South Africa: the eastern Free State province Blog

Mnqobi Ngubane: Immigrant farm workers on land reform farms in South Africa: the eastern Free State province

Words by Mnqobi Ngubane Should migrant farm workers from other countries such as Lesotho benefit from South African land reform? This was one of the questions raised at a land redistribution conference held at the University of Western Cape in February 2019. Opinion was divided. Some found the idea a rather shocking surprise, while others expressed sympathy for Lesotho immigrants…
Esté Beerwinkel
June 12, 2019