Socio-economic risk factors of foreign land acquisition in a developing country

Large investment in African land has generated serious interest among academicians, policy makers, international and local development agencies as well as civil organization. The debates centre on the phenomenal trajectory and the drivers of this investment in Africa. The inaccuracy or ambiguities in number of deals and institutional specificities has brought in the main, the need to undertake country by country study of foreign land deals in agricultural investment. To suggest vital information that will aid policy formulation and deliberation at country level, the study is on Congo-Brazzaville. This paper explores the factors that influenced foreign land acquisition in Congo, the impact of such investment on the host communities, and faults the decision of the government to make the attraction of foreign investment in agriculture a priority without fashioning out institutional framework that will regulate the investors and promote market discipline. Based on the above, the paper recommends strategies the government should earnestly pursue to mitigate the negativities of the investment and leverage on the benefits of commercial farming in the country, especially, in the area of skill transfer.