The BBC yesterday reported on a new database covering global land acquisitions by governments and private investors and arrived at the conclusion that the level of land grabs is exaggerated. The Land Matrix, which bills itself as “a global and independent land monitoring initiative that promotes transparency and accountability in decisions over land and investment,” concluded that there is considerable hype in the global land market, driven predominately by investment companies trying to influence the market and by concerns over the growing role of China.
But in its latest study, Land Matrix concludes that about 46 million hectares of land has changed hands in 756 verified land deals. About half of all transactions have taken place in Africa, with the bulk of those taking place in Ethiopia and Mozambique. Land deals that are occurring are generally equally divided between production of food and fuel crops.
Frequently, reports of massive…
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Dr. Bukar Ali USMAN, mni 