The impacts of a cancelled large-scale agricultural investment on smallholder farmers’ land use and access

Abstract: Large-scale agricultural investments have seen a rise in popularity over the years, promising economic growth, food security, and poverty eradication around the globe. Through the rising involvement of development aid agencies with private investors, the number of foreign large-scale investments in developing countries significantly increased. This development agenda is rooted in open market access and a globalized world in which rural areas should be included in fast growing economies. However, as much as operational deals are framed as success stories with positive outcomes for the region and people, opposing neoliberal market structures on rural economies of subsistence farming can pose severe problems. A multifaceted perspective is needed, and more features of large-scale investments have to be explored. This study aimed to investigate how the cancellation of such deals affected smallholder farmers in Bagamoyo region, Tanzania. By applying the theoretical concepts of power and knowledge combined with post-colonial theory, the focus of the study lays on the impacts cancelled deals have on farmers’ land use and access. Empirical data was gathered through qualitative research in the prior project area by directly talking to the project-affected smallholders from a sugar cane investment. The findings indicate that, long after cancellation, the effects of the investor remain and that rural communities, especially smallholders, are affected economically and mentally.