Resource information
Tanzania has always been a country in the spotlight over cases of land grabbing for various uses. Over the recent past there has been a lot of information in both print and electronic media of land being taken for various investment purposes. Little is known to the public of the deals the government is entering with these foreign investment companies that are eyeing Tanzania as a destination in agricultural investment. Investment in agricultural land has been a key driving force in Tanzania as a rush now has intensified in which agricultural land is being taken for various uses. An empirical study on the ground identifies three key motives for the rush; land for bio-energy purposes, food for export and carbon credit. This is taking place in different places and regions in Tanzania, of recent Rukwa region and Kigoma have joined the race in land acquisition thanks to the Iowa-based Summit Group and Global Agriculture Fund of the Pharos Financial Group, in partnership with AgriSol Energy LLC and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University and The Tanzanian arm of AgriSol Energy: AgriSol Energy Tanzania and Serengeti Advisers Limited, a Tanzanian investment and consulting firm who are currently planning to invest in agriculture in the land that is currently designated as refugee settlements in Katumba and Mishamo in Mpanda district and Lugufu which has already been evacuated in Kigoma rural district.
