Accessing African Farmlands: Discourses and Practices of Transnational Land Acquisitions in Central Uganda

Abstract

The surge in international interest in and acquisitions of African farmland has received considerable attention in the last decade. An equally growing body of research has attempted to explore explanatory pathways, or drivers of the phenomenon from both a local and global perspectives. But how do these land deals actually occur? There is still insufficient understanding of the strategies of access and processes of acquisition deployed by transnational actors. Using findings from five years of empirical research in central Uganda on Chinese, Indian and Norwegian owned farms, this paper analyses the discourses and practices of land acquisition deployed by transnational investors and examines how these strategies shape the process and determine the outcomes of land deals at the local level. Findings show that investors construct multiple narratives at various times and selectively deploy them in pursuit of specific interests. Careful alignment with global developmental thinking designed to attract funding and synchronizing with local policy priorities to attain access show mixed results. Cultivation of local patronage networks are predominant pathways of access, but these are fraught with risks occasioned by socio-political heterogeneity and shifting power relations across multiple levels. I argue that the identity and experiences of the investors, and their dexterity in navigating the complex diversity of local contexts are important factors that shape the processes and outcomes of transnational land deals at the local level.