Biofuels, Land Grabbing and Food Security in Africa

The issue of biofuels has already been much debated, but the focus to date has largely been on Latin America and deforestation - this highly original work breaks fresh ground in looking at the African perspective. Most African governments see biofuels as having the potential to increase agricultural productivity and export incomes and thus strengthen their national economies, improving energy balances and rural employment. At the same time climate change may be addressed through reduction of green house gas emissions.

There are, however, a number of uncertainties mounting that challenge this scenario. Using cutting-edge empirical case studies, this knowledge gap is addressed in a variety of chapters examining the effects of large-scale biofuel production on African agriculture. In particular, 'land grabbing' and food security issues are scrutinised, both of which have become vital topics in regard to the environmental and developmental governance of African countries.

A revealing book for anyone wishing to understand the startling impact of biofuels and land grabbing on Africa.

Africa Now is an exciting new series, published by Zed Books in association with the internationally respected Nordic Africa Institute. Featuring high-quality, cutting edge research from leading academics, the series addresses the big issues confronting Africa today. Accessible but in-depth, and wide-ranging in its scope, Africa Now engages with the critical political, economic, sociological and development debates affecting the continent, shedding new light on pressing concerns.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: biofuels, food security and land grabbing in Africa - Prosper B. Matondi, Kjell Havnevik and Atakilte Beyene
2. Grabbing of African lands for energy and food - implications for land rights, food security and smallholders - Kjell Havnevik
3. Biofuels governance - a matter of discursive and actor intermesh- Marie Widengård
4. Peak oil and climate change: Triggers of the drive for biofuel production - Rune Skarstein
5. Attracting Foreign Direct Investment in Africa in the context of land grabbing for biofuels and food security - Prosper B. Matondi and Patience Mutopo
6. Smallholder led transformation towards bio-fuel production in Ethiopia - Atakilte Beyene
7. Biofuel, land and environmental issues - the case of SEKAB's biofuel plans in Tanzania - Kjell Havnevik and Hanne Haaland
8. Agro-investments in Zimbabwe at a Time of Redistributive Land Reforms - Prosper B. Matondi
9. Competition between biofuel and food? Re-thinking biofuel narratives, evidence from a jatropha biodiesel project in Northern Ghana - Festus Boamah
10. Land grabbing, smallholder farmers and the meaning of agro-investor driven agrarian change in Africa - Prosper B. Matondi, Kjell Havnevik and Atakilte Beyene

About the Authors:

Prosper B. Matondi is the Executive Director of Ruzivo Trust, a not for profit organization based in Harare, Zimbabwe. He holds a PhD in Rural Development from the Swedish University of Agricultural University based in Uppsala, Sweden. He has more than 15 years experience researching on land, natural resources management, environmental policy and planning in Zimbabwe, within the southern African region and internationally. He has widely published and has made a contribution to many international, regional and international networks on land and agrarian reform issues. He sits on various research boards and is currently supervising PhD students working on land issues in Zimbabwe and beyond.

Kjell Havnevik is senior researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute and head of the institute's research cluster on Rural and Agrarian Dynamics, Property and Resources in Sub-Saharan Africa. He holds a PhD from the University of Bradford (development studies 1988) and has been working with universities and research institutes in Norway, Sweden and Tanzania. From 1996, he was professor of Rural Development at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden. He has published a number of book and articles on African development issues with special focus on rural development, natural resource management, the strategies of international financial institutions in Africa, and development assistance. He has a wide experience as a teacher and lecturer on African and development issues.

Atakilte Beyene is a researcher in rural development. He is based at the Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. His research focuses on institutions, and the relationships between smallholder agricultural systems, property rights and national agricultural policies. He has facilitated and conducted extensive empirical field studies on livelihood systems, food insecurity and risk management strategies, natural resources management, and recent developments in commercial farming, including bio-fuels. He is also a lecturer at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden where he also doubles up as coordinator of an international MSc program in Integrated Water Resources Management.