Characterisation of Danish agricultural investments in Tanzania and Uganda: Presentation of six cases of agricultural investments and their intended development outcomes

This DIIS Working Paper presents short characterisations of six examples of foreign agricultural investments in Tanzania and Uganda which involve Danish investments. The six cases have been selected from a pool of 96 identified Danish agricultural investments in sub-Saharan Africa, which: (i) involve private Danish capital; (ii) engage in primary production; and (iii) have acquired land rights.
The objective is to analyse the six cases to better understand which processes the investors themselves identify or attempt to achieve when wanting to create or contribute to positive development effects from their investments. This working paper presents key characteristics of each of the six cases including crop, size and business model, as well as types of investors, their investment approach and the factors that motivate them. It also presents the different objectives that the investors have expressed wanting to achieve. As most of the investments involve private funds, it is reasonable to expect that one important goal is to ensure a viable economy in the investment. However, in addition to an economically sound investment, all of the investors behind these six cases have additional ambitions regarding ways in which they see themselves—through the investment—as contributors towards a positive societal development in the area of the investment. Thus, the working paper presents the different ways the investors see their investments contributing to development in the area. This may involve job creation or beneficial effects from the specific business model—for example through the provision of markets or storage facilities, a stimulation of (external) demand, or training, and including the use of outgrower schemes. It may also involve the introduction and spread of new technology or standards, or, as in the cases of hybrid seed production, beneficial effects originating from the product produced. It may involve the general stimulation of economic activity in an area, or corporate social responsibility (CSR)-type activities or engagement with local communities or actors outside of what is strictly related to the business model.
Key survey data from the AIDA survey (Ravnborg et al., 2021) is used to give a short characterisation of the area in which each investment is located. This involves descriptive data on issues such as landlessness, average household land access (hectares), frequency and duration of food insufficiency among households, household poverty levels and their frequency, as well as the frequency with which households hire agricultural labourers and themselves take paid work as agricultural labourers, both in local farms and in commercial farms owned by non-locals.
After the presentation of each of the six cases, an overview is presented in the last chapter which examines intended pathways to intended development outcomes.