When
Agricultural Transformation and Inequality: The Case of Land Grabs in Tanzania
Jonathan Sullivan
Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Geography, Development & Environment
University of Arizona
Bio: Jonathan graduated from the Yale School of Forestry with a Master's in Forestry where he studied carbon forestry program and international development. After his time at Yale, he went on to work on designing and implementing forest carbon projects (including Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation aka REDD+) in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Democratic Republic of Congo and Colombia. Eventually, curiosity got the better of him on the effectiveness and fairness of development projects where he started a PhD at UMichigan at the School for Environment and Sustainability. There he studied issues of land grabs, agricultural transformation, and inequality. Beyond his dissertation work he also contributed to important work on flood monitoring that was recently published on the cover of Nature. Together, his work addresses how we can monitor and evaluate inequality, outcomes of development, conservation, and natural resource programs which he will be talking about today.
Abstract: Improving agricultural productivity is a foundational sustainability challenge in the 21st century to meet future food demands while also key to alleviating poverty and supporting 380-million households dependent on rural livelihoods. Concern is growing, however, as the control and ownership of croplands are rapidly shifting towards greater consolidation, challenging whether improvements in agricultural productivity will be equitably shared. Since 2000, the control of rural lands dramatically shifted with 90-million hectares of croplands and forest (approximately the surface area of Venezuela) purchased or leased by foreign investors. Whether such large-scale changes in land rights represent the most promising path to achieve improved agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods is hotly debated. This research explores how large-scale tenure changes – referred to as large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) – condition agricultural transitions and their implications for equity. Results from my research indicate that while LSLA can improve agricultural productivity, they do so at the expense of worsened inequality and elite capture.
ENR2 Building, Room S107
Refreshments starting at 3:00pm
Talk starting at 3:30pm
For virtual attendance/Zoom link: email Amanda Percy