Analysing the constraints to corporate land control: the influence of local power dynamics on a large-scale land deal in Senegal*

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the last fifteen years, Senegal has been highly coveted by land-seeking investors. Yet despite the rise in the number of large-scale land acquisitions in this country, many projects never materialized, have experienced significant setbacks or collapsed altogether. By showing how local power dynamics can be reinforced by, and in turn impact on, attempts at corporate land control, this contribution advances our understanding of the constraints to farmland investments in Africa. It examines how the Senegalese government cancelled a high-profile agribusiness project in the Senegal River Valley due to a combination of party factionalism, intransigence on the part of the rural council president, intra-lineage rivalry, strong village pride and pastoralists’ grievances. Based on extensive field research, this paper argues that the arrival of external investors can both amplify pre-existing cleavages and disrupt power arrangements in local communities, thereby undermining corporate land control and opportunities for profit-making.