Space for pluralism? Examining the Malibya land grab

Abstract

Recent years have seen a flood of pseudo-facts and falsely precise data on land deals. This has led some to call for a more careful approach to the study of land deals that moves away from the current hectare-centric focus towards a grounded case-study methodology. Heeding such calls, this contribution draws on fieldwork undertaken in Mali during 2011 to examine a well-known land deal, the Malibya project, which involved a contract for the transfer of control of 100,000 hectares of land within the Office du Niger. Locally and globally, the deal was denounced following the destruction of homes and gardens as a result of a canal development associated with project. In contrast, the Malian government has argued such projects are vital for expanded irrigation infrastructure and thus securing food self-sufficiency for Mali. Somewhere in between are the farmers of the Office du Niger, some of whom argue for the cessation of the project and others of whom argue the expansion of irrigation in the zone could benefit farmers, particularly those without sufficient access to land. This paper explores the differing viewpoints of the actors involved and the role the land-grabbing frame has played in mobilising these different responses.

Keywords:

• land grabbing
• social movements
• agriculture
• land access
• La Vía Campesina
• food sovereignty
• West Africa
• Mali

Acknowledgements

This paper draws on findings from my PhD thesis, and I thank my supervisors Kristen Lyons and Geoffrey Lawrence for their intellectual contributions to this material. Much gratitude to those who provided varying levels of feedback on drafts of this paper, including Jun Borras, Marc Edelman, Shona Hawkes, Amy McMahon and the three anonymous reviewers.

Notes

¹Malibya is an operating company of the Libyan African Investment Portfolio, an asset of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), Libya's sovereign wealth fund. The LIA was created by Safi Gaddafi in 2006 to invest the country's oil wealth and, although the fund was reported to have lost USD 1billion following the global financial crisis, the fund is currently valued at around USD 65 billion (Okpamen 2014).

²Malibya is an operating company of the Libyan African Investment Portfolio, an asset of the the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), Libya’s sovereign wealth fund. The LIA was created by Safi Gaddafi in 2006 to invest the country’s oil wealth and, although the fund was reported to have lost US$1billion following the global financial crisis, the fund is currently valued at around US$65 billion (Okpamen 2014).

³Approximately USD 6800.

Additional information

Nicolette Larder recently completed a PhD in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Queensland. Her current work focuses on financialisation in the Australian agri-food sector and the role of urban planning in delivering just food outcomes. Previous work has examined the motivations of individuals engaged in urban food production. She is currently employed in a casual capacity at the University of Queensland and the Queensland University of Technology.