Library Portal | UWC Portal | National ETDs | Global ETDs
    • Login
    Contact Us | About Us | FAQs | Login
    View Item 
    •   DSpace Home
    • Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
    • Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS)
    • Research Reports (PLAAS)
    • View Item
    •   DSpace Home
    • Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
    • Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS)
    • Research Reports (PLAAS)
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Commercialisation of land and ‘Land Grabbing': Implications for Land Rights and livelihoods in Malawi

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    rr_52_commercialisation_land_and_land_grabbing_malawi_2015.pdf (2.589Mb)
    Date
    2015
    Author
    Zamchiya, Phillan
    Gausi, Joseph
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    This study investigates the processes and impact of commercialisation of land in Malawi – specifically the acquisition of huge tracts of communal lands by foreign companies and local elites for sugarcane production in Nkhotakota and Chikwawa districts. The main finding was that ‘land grabbing’ for large-scale commercial agriculture in these two districts negatively affected the livelihoods of the poor communal farmers. The costs to the affected communities outweighed the benefits. In the two districts studied, land grabbing was driven by a weak communal tenure legal framework and the Malawi government’s support for large-scale agro-investments. The key players behind land grabbing were local elites, traditional leaders, foreign companies, international agencies, the coercive apparatus of the state – the police and army – and politicians. The land acquisition processes in both districts were violent and arbitrary, with no compensation offered to the displaced communities. The way in which the land was acquired resulted in the destruction of people’s properties, crops and household incomes, leading to increased food insecurity and poverty among the rural poor. Even though Malawi is a signatory to international land governance frameworks1, there was a disjuncture between policy and practice due to the players not complying with the statutes.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10566/4504
    Collections
    • Research Reports (PLAAS)

    DSpace 6.3 | Ubuntu | Copyright © University of the Western Cape
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Theme by 
    Atmire NV
     

     

    Browse

    All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    DSpace 6.3 | Ubuntu | Copyright © University of the Western Cape
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Theme by 
    Atmire NV