Land Grabbing And Its Impact On Food Security In Sub-Saharan Africa

Over the last decade, the synergy between the financial and food crises has led to the emergence of new processes in the functioning of national economies – the seizure of agricultural land. On the one hand, the governments of most African countries, for the sake of their food security, import food and buy agricultural land overseas to organize their own agricultural production. On the other hand, the main purpose of multinational companies investing in land purchases is to generate more profit. This situation led to the rapid and complete privatization of agricultural land on the African continent between 2008 and 2010, while the locals were living outside poverty. The peasants' right of access to land is no longer guaranteed, they have remained unprotected in their own territories. At present, exponential population growth and its needs are taking place, access to land and water is a crucial element of government. The purpose of the article is to analyze the probable conflicts in land relations arising from the transfer of land to multinational companies. The term ‘land grabbing' means the large-scale acquisition (purchase, lease) of agricultural land by private individuals for commercial purposes abroad and in the long term (30-90 years) for agricultural production or biofuel production for export. The author of the article found that the products grown on these lands will be destined for the population of other countries, which is detrimental to the local population. Consequently, the seizure of land will in the future have negative socio-economic consequences for society: the destruction of farms, the exacerbation of contradictions between the rural population, the destruction of community fields beyond land acquired by foreign states and transnational corporations. In addition, the study concludes that, first, the seizure of land on the African continent through foreign direct investment, capital transfers, technology and job creation can help to increase the individual income and standard of living of the local population, and thus promote food security; secondly, the significant demand for food and biofuels in the world, population pressures and climate change are factors contributing to the improvement of product quality in the African continent.