The Case of Zambia
5 Oct 2012
By Aslilhan Arslan, Setareh Khalilian, Mareike Lange for Kiel Institute for the World Economy
Part 3
Some of the findings of the Kiel Institute’s field trip to Zambia, April 2011
The project entitled "Landgrabs and Sustainable Development" is an interdisciplinary project aimed at investigating the economic, ecological and ethical impacts of large-scale land acquisitions in Africa. For this purpose, a field trip to Lusaka and to several large-scale agricultural farms in Zambia was undertaken in March and April 2011. Interviews were conducted with civil servants in several ministries, investors (from China), local farm workers, small-scale farmers and experts from NGOs and other institutions. The following summarizes the initial findings of this field trip.
1. The Zambian government is providing great incentives for foreign investors – the prices are kept low, “farm blocks” are ready for investors including developed infrastructure and onsite local farmers, and the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) provides support.
2. Small-scale farmers do not see the benefits of the large-scale investments. Their productivity has not changed – but they complain that prices for agricultural products have fallen due to the large scale production of the commercial farms. This endangers the livelihoods of net sellers of agricultural products.
3. Regulations may be evaded: for example in Zambia, large-scale investors must provide an environmental impact assessment to the Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ) at time of purchase, but often this is not done. Many investors start production without contacting the ECZ, despite the regulation.
4. Investors normally purchase 99-year leases of land in Zambia, and they are easily given large agricultural areas (e.g. 10,000 hectares or more). The speed of the transactions and the rising interest of foreign investors are worrisome with regard to the extensive time span and the scale of the investments. Continuing this policy without improving the implementation of these projects can lead to long lasting negative consequences for the local population.