Abstract
More than a decade has passed since the triple crises of food, energy and finance in the period 2007–2008. Those events turned global investor interest to agriculture and its commodities and thereafter the leasing of tens of millions of hectares of land. This article reviews and synthesizes the available evidence regarding the agricultural investments that have taken place in Ethiopia since that time. We use a systematic review approach to identify literature from the Web of Science and complement that with additional literature found via Google Scholar. Qualitative and quantitative methods are used to analyze the available literature. In so doing, we raise questions of data quality, by analyzing the evidence base used by many studies (the Land Matrix database) and compare it with data we obtained from the Government of Ethiopia. We find that while the Land Matrix is the largest available database, it appears to present only a fraction of the reality. In critically assessing the literature, we identify areas that have been under-researched or are missing from the literature, namely assessments of gendered impacts, the role of diaspora and domestic investors, interdisciplinary approaches (e.g., integrating climate change, biodiversity, and water), and studies that move beyond technical assessment, such as looking at the impacts on traditional knowledge and socio-cultural systems.
Highlights
The triple crisis of food, energy and finance in the period 2007–2008 fostered an environment in which agriculture and agricultural commodities attracted significant investment interest
In addition to reviewing academic literature indexed on the Web of Science and broader material made available via Google Scholar, we raise questions about data quality by critically analyzing the source of data on land deals
We present a comparative assessment of the largest available dataset of foreign land deals globally, the Land Matrix, which many studies rely directly or indirectly on, and compare that with a dataset we obtained from a regional government in Ethiopia
Summary
The triple crisis of food, energy and finance in the period 2007–2008 fostered an environment in which agriculture and agricultural commodities attracted significant investment interest. This review seeks to assess the literature on one country, Ethiopia, which has leased large tracts of land to investors and has been subject to significant research attention. We present a comparative assessment of the largest available dataset of foreign land deals globally, the Land Matrix, which many studies rely directly or indirectly (in referencing other papers that used the data) on, and compare that with a dataset we obtained from a regional government in Ethiopia. Reviewing literature, the missing areas missing assessments of impacts, the role ofthe diaspora domestic approachesapproaches (e.g., integrating gendered impacts, role ofand diaspora andinvestors, domesticinterdisciplinary investors, interdisciplinary (e.g., climate change, biodiversity, water), andand studies that and movestudies beyondthat technical such as integrating climate change, and biodiversity, water), moveassessment, beyond technical looking at the impacts on traditional knowledge and socio-cultural systems. Inand the methodology we outline following sectionabout provides context about the land rush globally in Ethiopia.
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