This study investigates the implications of large scale foreign land acquisitions on per capita\nincome in Africa. It employs data from World Development Indicators, World Governance\nIndicators and World Trade Indicators on key variables such as arable land per person,\nagricultural land as percentage of land area, net food import, regulatory quality, among others\n(1995-2012) on selected African countries where instances of foreign land deals have been\nreported. The study formulates empirical models that draw from institutional development\ntheory, which was estimated using Fixed Effects (FE) and Generalised Method of Moments\n(GMM) techniques in order to handle the issues of country-specific effects and endogeneity.\nThe results from the empirical analysis show that agricultural land influences per capita\nincome significantly. It hereby implies that as more agricultural land are cultivated; the\nwellbeing of the populace is likely to be enhanced primary through increased income for\nfarmers, increase in real money income for non-farmers, drastic reduction in food inflation\nand foreign exchange gains for the government. The results of the study suggest the need for\ncontrolling the issue of massive foreign land deals through viable institutional framework,\nthough there is need for foreign investment in Africa�s agricultural sector but sound\ninstitution is pertinent in order to avoid rent seeking behaviour among stalk holders.
Loading....