Land Acquisition in Zambia
Land Acquisition in Zambia
1. The global food crisis 2. Merits and demerits of land acquisition 3. Zambia: country profile 4. Issues around land acquisition in Zambia
1. The global food crisis:
Due to the effects of food price crisis of 2007-2008, there was growing concern among the nations about the food security. There was surge in demand for food products by the food importing countries and subsequently food-producing countries imposed some restrictions on the food exports of food grains.
In order to meet the growing demand of food and face increasing pressures on natural resources and water scarcity, the countries with land and water constraints needed an alternative means of producing food. Acquisition of farmland in the developing countries by these countries seeks to ensure food security. (More on the land acquisition drive)
These investments are not driven by the notion of comparative advantage in the large-scale production of indigenous crop (Mann and Smaller; 1; January 2010). The higher oil prices in 2007-2008 were another driver, which triggered interest of developed countries to acquire land for energy crops.
Global financial crisis also encouraged investors to invest in foreign lands. The value of both food and fertile land was set to increase, making them an attractive new investment.
Budgetary resources in developing countries may not be enough to meet infrastructural investment required to use the land to its potential. Some developing countries are seeking foreign investment to exploit their surplus land which is currently unused or under-utilized. This may lead to creation of jobs in rural areas and there may also be investment in health and education sector. Technology transfer by the investor countries may lead to increase in farm productivity. However these investments are not without trade offs.
There are concerns about the impact on local poor people, who lack access to and control over land on which
1. The global food crisis 2. Merits and demerits of land acquisition 3. Zambia: country profile 4. Issues around land acquisition in Zambia
1. The global food crisis:
Due to the effects of food price crisis of 2007-2008, there was growing concern among the nations about the food security. There was surge in demand for food products by the food importing countries and subsequently food-producing countries imposed some restrictions on the food exports of food grains.
In order to meet the growing demand of food and face increasing pressures on natural resources and water scarcity, the countries with land and water constraints needed an alternative means of producing food. Acquisition of farmland in the developing countries by these countries seeks to ensure food security. (More on the land acquisition drive)
These investments are not driven by the notion of comparative advantage in the large-scale production of indigenous crop (Mann and Smaller; 1; January 2010). The higher oil prices in 2007-2008 were another driver, which triggered interest of developed countries to acquire land for energy crops.
Global financial crisis also encouraged investors to invest in foreign lands. The value of both food and fertile land was set to increase, making them an attractive new investment.
Budgetary resources in developing countries may not be enough to meet infrastructural investment required to use the land to its potential. Some developing countries are seeking foreign investment to exploit their surplus land which is currently unused or under-utilized. This may lead to creation of jobs in rural areas and there may also be investment in health and education sector. Technology transfer by the investor countries may lead to increase in farm productivity. However these investments are not without trade offs.
There are concerns about the impact on local poor people, who lack access to and control over land on which
References: |GDP (PPP) (2009) (a) |$18.55 billion | |GDP per capita (PPP) (2009) (a) |$1500 | |Rank in GDP per capita (a) |140/153 | |GDP growth rate (2009) (a) |4.5% | |Contribution of Agriculture to GDP (2004)(a) |19.2% | |Contribution of Industry to GDP (2004)(a) |31.3% | |Contribution of Services to GDP (2004)(a) |49.5% | |Labour Force in Agriculture (2004) (a) |85% | |Labour Force in Industry (2004) (a) |06% | |Labour Force in Services (2004) (a) |09% | |Unemployment rate (2000) (a) |50% | |Population below BPL (1993) (a) |86% | |Rank in Population below BPL (a) |1st | |Total Exports (2009) (a) |$4.388 Billion | |Total import (2009) (a) |$4.4.131 | |Stock of FDI at home (DEC 2008) (a) |$4034 Billion | |Undernourished people in total population (2002-2004) (a) |46% | |Global Hunger index (2009) (b) |25.7 | |Rank in Global Hunger Index (b) |72/84 | |Food security as country in crisis (c) (2009) |NO | |BIODIVERSITY | | |Protected area (2005)(d) |41.4% | |Forest area (2008) (d) |60% | |Deforestation rate (one of the top country for deforestation between 2000 and 2008) (c) |-0.91% | |OVERALL INVESTMENT CLIMATE(2010) (e) | | |Ranking in Ease of doing business |90/183 | |Are WTO rules applicable? |Yes | |LAND USE (as of 2005) (a) | | |Gini coefficient (2006) (h) |0.60 | |Agriculture land of total land area (i) |47.47% |