The Oakland Institute, a Swift grantee, released a new publication this week that highlights the impact of land investment in Africa.

The report “demonstrates that land grabs–largely unregulated land deals involving foreign corporations and speculators–continue to be promoted as a “development” solution for African nations. Development agencies including USAID and the World Bank Group are often the architects of these deals that promise benefits for Africans but fail to deliver. Furthermore, the research shows that US and EU energy policies that tout the benefits of agrofuels and carbon credits–key elements of these land deals–are actually making climate change a bigger problem.”

The Institute has also published country specific reports on Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia.

This work links land grabs to increased famine and conflict on the continent, issues the purported investments are promoted to address.