1 -  Large-scale Agricultural Land Investments and Employment Creation in Africa: Qualitative Insights from University Farms in Nigeria

Evans Osabuohien; Felicia Olokoyo; Ibukun Beecroft; Alhassan Karakara; Uchenna Efobi

doi:10.57054/jhea.v21i1.6264

Numéro

Vol. 21 No 1 (2023): Revue de l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique

Issue Published : mai 4, 2026

1 - Large-scale Agricultural Land Investments and Employment Creation in Africa: Qualitative Insights from University Farms in Nigeria

https://doi.org/10.57054/jhea.v21i1.6264

Evans Osabuohien

Department of Economics & Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

Felicia Olokoyo

Departement of Banking and Finance, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

Ibukun Beecroft

Department of Economics & Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

Alhassan Karakara

School of Economics, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana / DePECOS Institutions and Development Research Centre (DIaDeRC), Nigeria

Uchenna Efobi

College of Management and Social Sciences, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria.

Revue de l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique, Vol. 21 No 1 (2023): Revue de l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique
Article Published : mai 4, 2026

Résumé

Les investissements fonciers agricoles à grande échelle (LALIs) font l’objet d’un intérêt croissant dans de nombreux pays africains. Bien que les établissements d’enseignement supérieur jouent un rôle important, il n’existe toujours pas d’études approfondies sur les effets des grandes exploitations agricoles universitaires sur les ménages des communautés environnantes au Nigeria. Compte tenu de ce manque de connaissances, cette étude examine les effets des grandes exploitations agricoles universitaires sur l’emploi dans les communautés d’accueil. L’étude fournit des informations qualitatives sur les implications des LALIs sur l’emploi. Elle a été menée dans trois fermes universitaires nigérianes sélectionnées en fonction de leur superficie et de la taille de leurs opérations. Les données ont été recueillies à partir d’observations sur le terrain, d’entretiens avec des informateurs clés et de discussions de groupe. Les résultats pertinents sur l’accès à et l’acquisition de terres, les divers modèles d’emploi et de rémunération et leurs implications pour les exploitations sélectionnées sont documentés. L’étude conclut que, bien que les (LALIs) sont en mesure de créer des opportunités d’emploi pour leurs communautés d’accueil, des domaines tels que l’amélioration de la rémunération, la transformation et le conditionnement de produits agricoles et les projets sociaux pourraient renforcer leurs capacités de création d’emplois.

Mots-clés

investissements fonciers agricoles emploi traitement et conditionnement fermes universitaires chaîne de valeur

Evans Osabuohien, Felicia Olokoyo, Ibukun Beecroft, Alhassan Karakara, & Uchenna Efobi. (2026). 1 - Large-scale Agricultural Land Investments and Employment Creation in Africa: Qualitative Insights from University Farms in Nigeria. Revue De l’enseignement supérieur En Afrique, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.57054/jhea.v21i1.6264

Télécharger la référence bibliographique

Les références

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African Union, 2011, Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa Land Policy in Africa: A Framework to Strengthen Land Rights, Enhance Productivity and Secure Livelihoods, Addis Abba: African Union Commission.
Ahlerup, P., and Tengstam, S., 2015, ‘Do the land-poor gain from agricultural investments? Empirical evidence from Zambia using panel data’, Paper presented at the NCDE 2015 Seminar, Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg.
Aigbokhan, B., and Ola, K., 2015, ‘Foreign land acquisitions, households’ livelihood with some evidences on Nigeria’, in E. Osabuohien, ed., Handbook of Research on In-Country Determinants and Implications of Foreign Land Acquisitions, Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference.
Amanor, K.S., 2012, ‘Global resource grabs, agribusiness concentration and the smallholder: two West African case studies’, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 39, No. 3–4, pp. 731–49.
Anseeuw, W., Lay J., Messerli, P., Giger, M., and Taylor, M., 2013, ‘Creating a public tool to assess and promote transparency in global land deals: the experience of the land matrix’, The Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 521–30.
Barbanente, G. and Aisbett, E., 2016, ‘Large-scale land acquisitions and rural development: empirical evidence from Ethiopia’, Paper presented at the 2016 World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty. Washington DC, 14–18 March.
Borras, S.M., McMicheal P.M, and Scoones, I., 2010, ‘The politics of biofuels, land and agrarian change: editor’s introduction’, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 575–92.
Castellanet, C., and Diepart, J., 2015, ‘The neoliberal agricultural modernisation model: a fundamental cause for large-scale land acquisition and counter land reform policies in the Mekong region’, BICAS, MOSAIC, LDPI, RCSD Chiang Mai University and Transnational Institute, Paper #55.
Christensen, D., Hartman, A., and Samii, C., 2017, ‘Legible institutions and land demand: the effect of property rights systems on investment in Liberia’, Draft paper for Department Seminar, UCLA.
Cotula, L., Vermeulen, S., Leonard, R., and Keeley, J., 2009, Land Grab or Development Opportunity? Agricultural Investment and International Land Deals in Africa, London/Rome: IIED/FAO/IFAD.
Daniel, S., 2012, ‘Situating private equity capital in the land grab debate’, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 39, No. 3–4, pp. 703–29.
Deininger, K, Byerlee, D., Lindsay, J., Norton, A., Selod, H., and Stickler, M., 2011, Rising Global Interest in Farmland, Washington DC: The World Bank.
Edafe, O., Osabuohien, E., Matthew, O., Osabohien, R., & Khatoon, R., 2023a, Large-scale Agricultural Investment and Female Employment in African Communities: Quantitative and Qualitative Insights from Nigeria, Land Use Policy, 127 (April). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106579
Edafe, O. D., Osabuohien, E., Matthew, O., Olurinola, I., Edafe, J., & Osabohien, R., 2023b, Large-scale agricultural land investments and food security in Nigeria, Heliyon, 9, e19941. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19941
ElHadary, Y.A., and Obeng-Odoom, F., 2012, ‘Conventions, changes, and contradictions in land governance in Africa: the story of land grabbing in north Sudan and Ghana’, Africa Today, Vol. 59, No. 2, pp. 59–78.
FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization), 2012, Trends and Impacts of Foreign Investment in Developing Country Agriculture. Evidence from Case Studies, Rome: FAO.
Hall, R., 2011, ‘Land grabbing in Southern Africa: the many faces of the investor rush’, Review of African Political Economy, Vol. 38, pp. 193–214.
HLPE (High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition), 2011, ‘Land tenure and international investments in agriculture: a report by the High-Level Panel of Experts on food security and nutrition’, HLPE and CWFS Report, Rome.
Jongbloed, B., Enders, J., and Salerno, C., 2008, ‘Higher education and its communities: Interconnections, interdependencies and a research agenda’, High Education, Vol. 56, pp. 303–24. 87–305.
Karakara, A. A., Efobi, U., Olokoyo, F., Beecroft. I., and Osabuohien, E. S. 2021. Youth Employment and Large-scale Agricultural Land Investments Nexus in Africa: Mixed Method Insights from Nigeria. Africa Development, XLVI (4), 177 – 203.
Khadjavi, M., Sipangule, K., and Thiele, R., 2017, ‘Social capital and large- scale agriculture investment: an experimental investigation in Zambia’, Kiel Working Paper, No. 2056.
KPMG, 2014, ‘The Pension Reform Act 2014’, Newsletter, July.
LMGO (Land Matrix Global Observatory), 2017, ‘The online public database on land deals’. http://www.landmatrix.org/en/ (accessed 5 February 2017).
Levy, D.C., 2005, ‘Private higher education’s surprise roles’, in P.G. Altbach and D. Levy, eds., Private Higher Education Revolution: An Introduction, Rotterdam: Sense Publisher, pp. 33–6.
Mutopo, P., Chiweshe, M.K., and Mubaya, C.P., 2015, ‘Large-scale land acquisitions, livelihoods, and gender configurations in Zimbabwe’, in E.S. Osabuohien, ed., Handbook of Research on In-Country Determinants and Implications of Foreign Land Acquisitions, Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference. pp. 130–44.
Mustapha, A.R., 2011, ‘White Zimbabwean farmers in Nigeria: exceptional farmers or spectacular support?’, African Affairs, Vol. 110, No. 441, pp. 536–61.
Nolte, K. and Ostermeier, M., 2017, ‘Labour market effects of large-scale agricultural investment: conceptual considerations and estimated employment effects’, World Development, Vol. 98, October, pp. 430–46.
Nolte, K., 2014, ‘Large-scale agricultural investments under poor land governance in Zambia’, Land Use Policy, Vol. 38, pp. 698–706.
Nolte, K., Chamberlain, W., and Markus, G., 2016, International Land Deals for Agriculture. Fresh insights from the Land Matrix: Analytical Report II, Bern, Montpellier, Hamburg, Pretoria: Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern; Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement; German Institute of Global and Area Studies; University of Pretoria; Bern Open Publishing.
Oanda, I.O. Chege, F.N., and Wesonga, D.M., 2008, Privatisation and Private Higher Education in Kenya: Implications for Access, Equity and Knowledge Production, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Odhiambo, M.O., 2011, ‘Commercial pressures on land in Africa: a regional overview of opportunities, challenges and impacts’, International Land Coalition.
Odoemene, A., 2012, ‘White Zimbabwe farmers in Nigeria: issues in “new Nigerian” land deals and the implication for food and human security’, African Identities, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 63–76.
Okuro, S.O., 2015, ‘Land grab in Kenya: risk and opportunities’, in E.Y. Vubo, ed., Environment, Agriculture and Cross-border Migrations, Dakar: CODESRIA. pp. 105–20.
Olokoyo, F.O., George, T.O., Efobi, U.R., and Beecroft, I., 2015, ‘Land deals and sustainable income: the case of a rural community in Ogun State, Nigeria’, in E.S. Osabuohien, ed., Handbook of Research on In-Country Determinants and Implications of Foreign Land Acquisitions, Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference. pp. 322–36.
Olorundare, A.S. and Kayode, D.J., 2014, ‘Entrepreneurship education in Nigerian universities: a tool for national transformation’, Asia Pacific Journal of Educators and Education, Vol. 29, pp. 155–75.
Osabuohien, E.S., 2014, ‘Large-scale agricultural land investments and local institutions in Africa: the Nigerian case’, Land Use Policy, Vol. 39, July, pp. 155–65.
Osabuohien, E.S., Efobi, U.R., Herrmann, R.T. and Gitau, C.M., 2019, ‘Female labour outcomes and large-scale agricultural land investments: macro-micro evidence from Tanzania’, Land Use Policy, Vol. 82, pp. 716–28.
Osabuohien, E.S., Gitau, C.M., Efobi, U.R. and Bruentrup, M., 2015, ‘Agents and implications of foreign land deals in East African Community: the case of Uganda’, in E.S. Osabuohien, ed., Handbook of Research on In-Country Determinants and Implications of Foreign Land Acquisitions, Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference. pp. 263–86.
Osabuohien, E.S., Okorie, U.E. and Osabohien, R.A., 2018, ‘Rice production and processing in Ogun State, Nigeria: qualitative insights from farmers’ association’, in E. Obayelu, eds., Food Systems Sustainability and Environmental Policies in Modern Economies, Hershey, PA: IGI Global. pp. 188–216.
Platteau, J.P., 1996, ‘The evolutionary theory of land rights as applied to sub- Saharan Africa: a critical assessment’, Development and Change, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 29–86.
Schoneveld, G.C., German, L.A. and Nutakor, E., 2011, ‘Land-based investments for rural development? A grounded analysis of the local impacts of biofuel feedstock plantations in Ghana, Ecology and Society, Vol. 16, No. 4, p. 10.
Toye, F., 2015, ‘Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted’ (attributed to Albert Einstein)’, British Journal of Pain, Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 7.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), 2005, Private Higher Education in Kenya, Paris: UNESCO O/IIEP.
Wily, A.L., 2012, ‘Looking back to see forward: the legal niceties of land theft in land rushes’, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 39, No. 3–4, pp. 751–75.
Zhan, J., Mirza, H., and Speller, W., 2015, ‘The impact of larger scale agricultural investments on communities in south-east Asia: a first assessment’, in C. Gironde,
C. Golay and P. Messerli, eds, Large Scale Land Acquisitions, International Development Policy Series 6 Geneva: The Graduate Institute. pp. 81–107.
Zoomers, A., 2010, ‘Globalisation and the foreignisation of space: seven processes driving the current global land grab’, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 429–47.

Les références

Aabø, E., and Kring, T., 2012, ‘The political economy of large-scale agricultural land acquisitions: implications for food security and livelihoods/employment creation in rural Mozambique’, UNDP Working Paper, WP 2012-004.

African Union, 2011, Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa Land Policy in Africa: A Framework to Strengthen Land Rights, Enhance Productivity and Secure Livelihoods, Addis Abba: African Union Commission.

Ahlerup, P., and Tengstam, S., 2015, ‘Do the land-poor gain from agricultural investments? Empirical evidence from Zambia using panel data’, Paper presented at the NCDE 2015 Seminar, Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg.

Aigbokhan, B., and Ola, K., 2015, ‘Foreign land acquisitions, households’ livelihood with some evidences on Nigeria’, in E. Osabuohien, ed., Handbook of Research on In-Country Determinants and Implications of Foreign Land Acquisitions, Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference.

Amanor, K.S., 2012, ‘Global resource grabs, agribusiness concentration and the smallholder: two West African case studies’, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 39, No. 3–4, pp. 731–49.

Anseeuw, W., Lay J., Messerli, P., Giger, M., and Taylor, M., 2013, ‘Creating a public tool to assess and promote transparency in global land deals: the experience of the land matrix’, The Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 521–30.

Barbanente, G. and Aisbett, E., 2016, ‘Large-scale land acquisitions and rural development: empirical evidence from Ethiopia’, Paper presented at the 2016 World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty. Washington DC, 14–18 March.

Borras, S.M., McMicheal P.M, and Scoones, I., 2010, ‘The politics of biofuels, land and agrarian change: editor’s introduction’, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 575–92.

Castellanet, C., and Diepart, J., 2015, ‘The neoliberal agricultural modernisation model: a fundamental cause for large-scale land acquisition and counter land reform policies in the Mekong region’, BICAS, MOSAIC, LDPI, RCSD Chiang Mai University and Transnational Institute, Paper #55.

Christensen, D., Hartman, A., and Samii, C., 2017, ‘Legible institutions and land demand: the effect of property rights systems on investment in Liberia’, Draft paper for Department Seminar, UCLA.

Cotula, L., Vermeulen, S., Leonard, R., and Keeley, J., 2009, Land Grab or Development Opportunity? Agricultural Investment and International Land Deals in Africa, London/Rome: IIED/FAO/IFAD.

Daniel, S., 2012, ‘Situating private equity capital in the land grab debate’, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 39, No. 3–4, pp. 703–29.

Deininger, K, Byerlee, D., Lindsay, J., Norton, A., Selod, H., and Stickler, M., 2011, Rising Global Interest in Farmland, Washington DC: The World Bank.

Edafe, O., Osabuohien, E., Matthew, O., Osabohien, R., & Khatoon, R., 2023a, Large-scale Agricultural Investment and Female Employment in African Communities: Quantitative and Qualitative Insights from Nigeria, Land Use Policy, 127 (April). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106579

Edafe, O. D., Osabuohien, E., Matthew, O., Olurinola, I., Edafe, J., & Osabohien, R., 2023b, Large-scale agricultural land investments and food security in Nigeria, Heliyon, 9, e19941. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19941

ElHadary, Y.A., and Obeng-Odoom, F., 2012, ‘Conventions, changes, and contradictions in land governance in Africa: the story of land grabbing in north Sudan and Ghana’, Africa Today, Vol. 59, No. 2, pp. 59–78.

FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization), 2012, Trends and Impacts of Foreign Investment in Developing Country Agriculture. Evidence from Case Studies, Rome: FAO.

Hall, R., 2011, ‘Land grabbing in Southern Africa: the many faces of the investor rush’, Review of African Political Economy, Vol. 38, pp. 193–214.

HLPE (High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition), 2011, ‘Land tenure and international investments in agriculture: a report by the High-Level Panel of Experts on food security and nutrition’, HLPE and CWFS Report, Rome.

Jongbloed, B., Enders, J., and Salerno, C., 2008, ‘Higher education and its communities: Interconnections, interdependencies and a research agenda’, High Education, Vol. 56, pp. 303–24. 87–305.

Karakara, A. A., Efobi, U., Olokoyo, F., Beecroft. I., and Osabuohien, E. S. 2021. Youth Employment and Large-scale Agricultural Land Investments Nexus in Africa: Mixed Method Insights from Nigeria. Africa Development, XLVI (4), 177 – 203.

Khadjavi, M., Sipangule, K., and Thiele, R., 2017, ‘Social capital and large- scale agriculture investment: an experimental investigation in Zambia’, Kiel Working Paper, No. 2056.

KPMG, 2014, ‘The Pension Reform Act 2014’, Newsletter, July.

LMGO (Land Matrix Global Observatory), 2017, ‘The online public database on land deals’. http://www.landmatrix.org/en/ (accessed 5 February 2017).

Levy, D.C., 2005, ‘Private higher education’s surprise roles’, in P.G. Altbach and D. Levy, eds., Private Higher Education Revolution: An Introduction, Rotterdam: Sense Publisher, pp. 33–6.

Mutopo, P., Chiweshe, M.K., and Mubaya, C.P., 2015, ‘Large-scale land acquisitions, livelihoods, and gender configurations in Zimbabwe’, in E.S. Osabuohien, ed., Handbook of Research on In-Country Determinants and Implications of Foreign Land Acquisitions, Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference. pp. 130–44.

Mustapha, A.R., 2011, ‘White Zimbabwean farmers in Nigeria: exceptional farmers or spectacular support?’, African Affairs, Vol. 110, No. 441, pp. 536–61.

Nolte, K. and Ostermeier, M., 2017, ‘Labour market effects of large-scale agricultural investment: conceptual considerations and estimated employment effects’, World Development, Vol. 98, October, pp. 430–46.

Nolte, K., 2014, ‘Large-scale agricultural investments under poor land governance in Zambia’, Land Use Policy, Vol. 38, pp. 698–706.

Nolte, K., Chamberlain, W., and Markus, G., 2016, International Land Deals for Agriculture. Fresh insights from the Land Matrix: Analytical Report II, Bern, Montpellier, Hamburg, Pretoria: Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern; Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement; German Institute of Global and Area Studies; University of Pretoria; Bern Open Publishing.

Oanda, I.O. Chege, F.N., and Wesonga, D.M., 2008, Privatisation and Private Higher Education in Kenya: Implications for Access, Equity and Knowledge Production, Dakar: CODESRIA.

Odhiambo, M.O., 2011, ‘Commercial pressures on land in Africa: a regional overview of opportunities, challenges and impacts’, International Land Coalition.

Odoemene, A., 2012, ‘White Zimbabwe farmers in Nigeria: issues in “new Nigerian” land deals and the implication for food and human security’, African Identities, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 63–76.

Okuro, S.O., 2015, ‘Land grab in Kenya: risk and opportunities’, in E.Y. Vubo, ed., Environment, Agriculture and Cross-border Migrations, Dakar: CODESRIA. pp. 105–20.

Olokoyo, F.O., George, T.O., Efobi, U.R., and Beecroft, I., 2015, ‘Land deals and sustainable income: the case of a rural community in Ogun State, Nigeria’, in E.S. Osabuohien, ed., Handbook of Research on In-Country Determinants and Implications of Foreign Land Acquisitions, Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference. pp. 322–36.

Olorundare, A.S. and Kayode, D.J., 2014, ‘Entrepreneurship education in Nigerian universities: a tool for national transformation’, Asia Pacific Journal of Educators and Education, Vol. 29, pp. 155–75.

Osabuohien, E.S., 2014, ‘Large-scale agricultural land investments and local institutions in Africa: the Nigerian case’, Land Use Policy, Vol. 39, July, pp. 155–65.

Osabuohien, E.S., Efobi, U.R., Herrmann, R.T. and Gitau, C.M., 2019, ‘Female labour outcomes and large-scale agricultural land investments: macro-micro evidence from Tanzania’, Land Use Policy, Vol. 82, pp. 716–28.

Osabuohien, E.S., Gitau, C.M., Efobi, U.R. and Bruentrup, M., 2015, ‘Agents and implications of foreign land deals in East African Community: the case of Uganda’, in E.S. Osabuohien, ed., Handbook of Research on In-Country Determinants and Implications of Foreign Land Acquisitions, Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference. pp. 263–86.

Osabuohien, E.S., Okorie, U.E. and Osabohien, R.A., 2018, ‘Rice production and processing in Ogun State, Nigeria: qualitative insights from farmers’ association’, in E. Obayelu, eds., Food Systems Sustainability and Environmental Policies in Modern Economies, Hershey, PA: IGI Global. pp. 188–216.

Platteau, J.P., 1996, ‘The evolutionary theory of land rights as applied to sub- Saharan Africa: a critical assessment’, Development and Change, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 29–86.

Schoneveld, G.C., German, L.A. and Nutakor, E., 2011, ‘Land-based investments for rural development? A grounded analysis of the local impacts of biofuel feedstock plantations in Ghana, Ecology and Society, Vol. 16, No. 4, p. 10.

Toye, F., 2015, ‘Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted’ (attributed to Albert Einstein)’, British Journal of Pain, Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 7.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), 2005, Private Higher Education in Kenya, Paris: UNESCO O/IIEP.

Wily, A.L., 2012, ‘Looking back to see forward: the legal niceties of land theft in land rushes’, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 39, No. 3–4, pp. 751–75.

Zhan, J., Mirza, H., and Speller, W., 2015, ‘The impact of larger scale agricultural investments on communities in south-east Asia: a first assessment’, in C. Gironde,

C. Golay and P. Messerli, eds, Large Scale Land Acquisitions, International Development Policy Series 6 Geneva: The Graduate Institute. pp. 81–107.

Zoomers, A., 2010, ‘Globalisation and the foreignisation of space: seven processes driving the current global land grab’, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 429–47.