222
9
In addition, soil samples were taken from land that had been continually cultivated for 5 years, land that had been fallow for 5 years, 8–10 years and 15–20 years,
forest soil that had never been cultivated and soil from the sacred groves. Many
villages in southern Mali have such sacred forests that are fully protected against
all human use (farming, grazing and firewood gathering). They are usually located
centrally in the villages and on good soil. Therefore, they function as good reference points for the other soil samples.
With the international price increase on food and energy from 2007, land in the
Global South, and especially in Africa, was discovered by international capital as
an investment object. This again has led a number of journalists, activists, students
and scholars to draw critical attention to these investments, and to express a concern for the consequences for smallholders. Small-scale farmers and pastoralists
have historically used the areas where many of the investments take place and since
they usually do not hold strong formal rights to land and natural resources, they
tend to be excluded and dispossessed of land they have used. The term ‘land grabbing’ was coined to draw attention to this injustice
There is considerable uncertainty regarding how large areas the new land investments cover in total, and the numbers vary a lot. According to the World Bank, 46
million hectares were leased to investors between 2006 and 2010 of which 70% were
in Africa. In 2009, FAO estimated, however, that 20 million hectares were leased
out in Africa as a result of the new land rush (Evers et al. 2013).
In the debate about these investments, there are two opposing discourses, which
again reflect old debates about whether large mechanized units or small family
farms best promote agricultural development. On the one hand, there is a modernization discourse arguing that to prevent a Malthusian disaster with overpopulation, agriculture in Africa needs to be modernized through investments that foster
technological change, larger units and a closer connection to global markets. Only
in this way can total production increase enough to outpace population growth.
African agriculture dominated by small family farms is generally seen as unproductive and environmentally destructive. This discourse is supported by most
African governments, large investors, many development aid donors and a number
of researchers, especially economists.
Definition
In opposition to dominant ideas about the need to modernize African agriculture,
there is a discourse about food sovereignty where smallholders are seen as the most
important land investors, users and producers. Key in this discourse is the idea
that the smallholders themselves, and not international capital, should control the
management of land, water, seeds and natural resources. While food security can
be achieved through external support such as food aid, food sovereignty is about
giving power to small-scale producers allowing them to control essential parts of
Chapter 9 · Population Growth, Markets and Sustainable Land-Use in Africa
9
In addition, soil samples were taken from land that had been continually cultivated for 5 years, land that had been fallow for 5 years, 8–10 years and 15–20 years,
forest soil that had never been cultivated and soil from the sacred groves. Many
villages in southern Mali have such sacred forests that are fully protected against
all human use (farming, grazing and firewood gathering). They are usually located
centrally in the villages and on good soil. Therefore, they function as good reference points for the other soil samples.
With the international price increase on food and energy from 2007, land in the
Global South, and especially in Africa, was discovered by international capital as
an investment object. This again has led a number of journalists, activists, students
and scholars to draw critical attention to these investments, and to express a concern for the consequences for smallholders. Small-scale farmers and pastoralists
have historically used the areas where many of the investments take place and since
they usually do not hold strong formal rights to land and natural resources, they
tend to be excluded and dispossessed of land they have used. The term ‘land grabbing’ was coined to draw attention to this injustice
There is considerable uncertainty regarding how large areas the new land investments cover in total, and the numbers vary a lot. According to the World Bank, 46
million hectares were leased to investors between 2006 and 2010 of which 70% were
in Africa. In 2009, FAO estimated, however, that 20 million hectares were leased
out in Africa as a result of the new land rush (Evers et al. 2013).
In the debate about these investments, there are two opposing discourses, which
again reflect old debates about whether large mechanized units or small family
farms best promote agricultural development. On the one hand, there is a modernization discourse arguing that to prevent a Malthusian disaster with overpopulation, agriculture in Africa needs to be modernized through investments that foster
technological change, larger units and a closer connection to global markets. Only
in this way can total production increase enough to outpace population growth.
African agriculture dominated by small family farms is generally seen as unproductive and environmentally destructive. This discourse is supported by most
African governments, large investors, many development aid donors and a number
of researchers, especially economists.
Definition
In opposition to dominant ideas about the need to modernize African agriculture,
there is a discourse about food sovereignty where smallholders are seen as the most
important land investors, users and producers. Key in this discourse is the idea
that the smallholders themselves, and not international capital, should control the
management of land, water, seeds and natural resources. While food security can
be achieved through external support such as food aid, food sovereignty is about
giving power to small-scale producers allowing them to control essential parts of
Chapter 9 · Population Growth, Markets and Sustainable Land-Use in Africa