Land grabbing, gender and access to land: implications for local food production and rural livelihoods in Nguti sub-division, South West Cameroon

Ndi, Frankline Anum

doi:10.1080/00083968.2018.1484296

Cited by 9 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…However, the flipside—dispossession of land use and land ownership rights held by local communities—were soon uncovered by researchers and the international media, which showed how local communities’ rights were being curtailed by more powerful foreign land investors, including the state (Borras et al, 2010; Moreda, 2017; Fonjong et al, 2016). These grounded studies were not influential, however, because they challenged neoliberal economic thinking, and the networks of patronage that tie commercial interests to those with political power (Ndi & Batterbury, 2017; Ndi, 2019b; Vermeulen & Cotula, 2010).…”

Section: Africa At the Epicentre Of “Global Land Grabbing”mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While land grabbing does not always lead to the dispossession or the subversion of rural communities and their livelihoods, many land deals have in fact incited waves of dispossession and displacement which have exacerbated severe livelihood stresses for individuals and communities concerned (Hickey & du Toit, 2007; Moreda, 2017; Ndi, 2019b; Ndi & Batterbury, 2017). Moreover, the assumption that development dividends accruable to such land deals will “trickle down” to local peoples remains largely illusory (Anseeuw, 2013; O’Brien, 2011).…”

Section: Africa At the Epicentre Of “Global Land Grabbing”mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Protectors or enablers? Untangling the roles of traditional authorities and local elites in foreign land grabs in Cameroon

Ndi

Wanki

Dessein

2021

Development Policy Review

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Motivation In Cameroon, most land earmarked for allocation to foreign investors is communally owned. The state, however, considers such land as “empty” or “underutilized”—a faulty designation that confers upon the Cameroonian state and state representatives sweeping authority to allocate lands to potential investors without full consultation with communities whose livelihoods depend on them. Purpose The article addresses the following questions: who are traditional authorities in the context of Cameroon? What is their place in the complex dynamics of neopatrimonial governance, and how does this influence their allegiance to state versus the people they ought to represent? How do they collaborate to enable state actions during land grabbing against their people? Methods and approach The study is based on interviews, group discussions, and field observations conducted as part of a larger project on land grabbing in Cameroon; and supplemented with secondary sources through critical reading of published and unpublished scholarly and technical sources, including reports from national non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Nature Cameroon as well as Green Peace, the World Bank, and other bodies. Findings It argues that land grabbing in Cameroon should be understood as an outcome of the state’s strategic and/or opportunistic choice, within a neopatrimonial dispensation, to enforce its political power over land and related resources. Local traditional authorities paradoxically play the role of state facilitators in the process, rather than serving as custodians of the populations they represent. Policy implications The article concludes that such pernicious land acquisition would not have been successful without the active collaboration of traditional authorities (so‐called state enablers) who act as “brokers” and facilitators of land deals—sometimes using threats, intimidation, and force on villagers. There is a need for policies to tackle the accountability problems arising from the ambivalent role that local traditional authorities play in Cameroon’s neopatrimonial order—doubly serving as de facto representatives of local peoples, and at the same time as proxy enablers of large‐scale land acquisition.

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Section: Africa At the Epicentre Of “Global Land Grabbing”mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Africa At the Epicentre Of “Global Land Grabbing”mentioning

confidence: 99%

Protectors or enablers? Untangling the roles of traditional authorities and local elites in foreign land grabs in Cameroon

Ndi

Wanki

Dessein

2021

Development Policy Review

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“…Participants commented that in the current situation, many large (mining, forestry and agriculture) companies are not investing in the country due partly to the poor application of the law, which decreases investors' confidence and certainty. Effective application of the rule of law will increase foreign investments in large projects, although in some cases this could increase conflicts with local inhabitants and decrease local well-being [83][84][85]. If these large projects were to occur, they would result in higher national tax revenues, which could potentially provide additional resources for improving social services.…”

Section: Mozambican Trajectory Since 2015 Correspondence With Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Complex Relationships between Human Well-Being and Land Use Change in Mozambique Using a Multi-Scale Participatory Scenario Planning Process

et al. 2021

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The path for bringing millions of people out of poverty in Africa is likely to coincide with important changes in land use and land cover (LULC). Envisioning the different possible pathways for agricultural, economic and social development, and their implications for changes in LULC, ecosystem services and society well-being, will improve policy-making. This paper presents a case that uses a multi-scale participatory scenario planning method to facilitate the understanding of the complex interactions between LULC change and the wellbeing of the rural population and their possible future evolution in Mozambique up to 2035. Key drivers of change were identified: the empowerment of civil society, the effective application of legislation and changes in rural technologies (e.g., information and communications technologies and renewable energy sources). Three scenarios were constructed: one characterized by the government promoting large investments; a second scenario characterized by the increase in local community power and public policies to promote small and medium enterprises; and a third, intermediate scenario. All three scenarios highlight qualitative large LULC changes, either driven by large companies or by small and medium scale farmers. The scenarios have different impact in wellbeing and equity, the first one implying a higher rural to urban area migration. The results also show that the effective application of the law can produce different results, from assuring large international investments to assuring the improvement of social services like education, health care and extension services. Successful application of these policies, both for biodiversity and ecosystem services protection, and for the social services needed to improve the well-being of the Mozambican rural population, will have to overcome significant barriers.

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“…In Cameroon, a few recent studies have been conducted on large-scale land acquisitions mostly examining the trends, processes, actors and institutions involved, and the disproportionate gendered impacts of this phenomenon (Fonjong et al . 2015; Ndi 2017, 2019 a , 2019 b ; Ndi & Batterbury 2017; Wanki & Ndi 2019). As elsewhere in Africa, little has been documented to show how lineage and patronage networks intersect to shape land acquisition processes and outcomes in Cameroon.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corporate land acquisitions at the intersection of lineage and patronage networks in Cameroon

2021

Self Cite

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Despite the proliferation of literature on large-scale land acquisitions (LSLA) in Africa, few empirical studies exist on how patronage networks combine with socio-cultural stratification to determine the livelihood outcomes for African agrarian-based communities. This article draws from ethnographic research on Cameroon to contribute to bridging this gap. We argue that lineage and patronage considerations intersect to determine beneficiaries and losers during LSLA. Second, we show that LSLA tend to re-entrench existing inequalities in power relations that exist within communities in favour of people with traceable ancestral lineage. Concomitantly, non-indigenous groups especially migrants, bear the brunt of exclusion and are unfortunately exposed to severe livelihood stresses due to their inability to leverage patronage networks and political power to defend their interests. We submit that empirical examination of the impacts of land acquisitions should consider the centrality of power and patronage networks between indigenes and non-indigenes, and how this socio-cultural dichotomy restricts and/or mediates land acquisition outcomes in Cameroon.

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Land grabbing, gender and access to land: implications for local food production and rural livelihoods in Nguti sub-division, South West Cameroon

Cited by 9 publications

References 30 publications

Protectors or enablers? Untangling the roles of traditional authorities and local elites in foreign land grabs in Cameroon

Protectors or enablers? Untangling the roles of traditional authorities and local elites in foreign land grabs in Cameroon

Understanding Complex Relationships between Human Well-Being and Land Use Change in Mozambique Using a Multi-Scale Participatory Scenario Planning Process

Corporate land acquisitions at the intersection of lineage and patronage networks in Cameroon

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