A Seismic Change: Land Control in Africa. Is This a Wake-Up Call for Agribusiness?
Aidan J. Connolly, Vice President, Alltech, 3031 Catnip Hill Pike, Nicholasville, Lexington, Kentucky 40356, U.S.A. Kate Phillips Connolly, PhD, Researcher, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Mark Lyons, Vice President, Alltech, 1801, Central Tower, China Overseas Plaza, 8 Guanghua Dongli., Beijing, 100020, China
Abstract
Africa has often been described as the 'forgotten continent' but dramatic changes have occurred in African agribusiness over the last ten years. On the one hand, the greatest transfer of land ownership since the colonial era continues apace. These deals are sometimes seen as a land grab, or new form of colonialism. On the other hand this new investment and the involvement of large scale agribusiness also offers the potential of bringing new technologies and techniques to the region. Could this technology transfer help Africa to replicate the Brazilian ‘miracle’? The wider agricultural community, more familiar with tales of feuds and famine in Africa, has largely overlooked many of these changes, but this paper argues that it behooves the Agribusiness community to understand what is happening, and to ask: is it time for Agribusinesses to invest in Africa?
