The accusation that foreign countries have been involved in “land grabbing” whereby huge swathes of Africa are being handed over to corporations at bargain prices, with a concomitant negative link to food security has captured the attention of various media outlets. Often at the forefront in being accused of such practices is China. That many of these reports and accusations are grounded in often dubious (or downright false) information is the main theme of the book under review. Written by the premier expert on Sino-African relations, Deborah Bräutigam's book explores the falsehoods and actualities behind the headlines.
The study contests what Bräutigam identifies as the four main misconceptions about Beijing's role in African agriculture. The first is that Chinese corporations have somehow obtained huge expanses of farmland across the continent and that numerous Chinese labourers have been imported. The second claim is that Beijing is centrally directing such purchases. The third prevalent belief is that Beijing is pursuing such policies to improve food security back in China, i.e. African agricultural land will be used to feed China. Lastly, the fourth idea is that a mass of Chinese peasantry has been dispatched to Africa as settlers.
To investigate whether such claims have any basis in fact, extensive fieldwork across Africa was conducted, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. An impressive number of state officials and workers at some of the key Chinese agribusiness companies were interviewed, both in Africa and in China.
The findings of the book are that none of the stories about China's role in “land grabbing” are true. The book demolishes the idea that there has been colossal investment in African agriculture by China and demonstrates that though various investment projects may be announced (which is what the media latches onto and then runs with), very few happen. Chapters one and five of the book are replete with numerous examples of announced Chinese investments that never appeared. Bräutigam does acknowledge that Chinese investment in Africa has been steadily rising. This is discussed in chapters six to eight, with an examination of Chinese state-owned firms and private companies' investment patterns in Africa. These chapters provide unambiguous evidence that there is no observable configuration regarding large-scale land purchases or even noticeably enormous amounts of Chinese capital flowing into African agriculture. Unsurprisingly, the invasion of Africa by Chinese peasants has not an ounce of reality. With regard to whether China is aiming to get the continent to feed its population, Bräutigam demonstrates that China is actually exporting more food to Africa, rather than be reliant on the continent as a source and regarding the issue of China ostensibly undermining African food security, it is shown that virtually all of agricultural investments in Africa by China were either dedicated to providing local markets with products such as eggs, rice, wheat, poultry, etc. or were concerned with the export of commodities to global markets. Whilst some of this went to China, this was not exclusive and cannot be seen as any evidence of “locking in” African agriculture to the Chinese market.
The role of the central government in the whole question is of great interest, as often it is portrayed that China has some sort of “master plan” regarding Africa. Bräutigam shows that when the “going out” policy was announced, agriculture was included in the activities supported by government incentives and that in 2006 and 2008, China Exim Bank and China Development Bank, extended around US$8 billion in credit to Chinese agricultural initiatives globally. However, land purchases were explicitly excluded and the credit was more to do with promoting the export of Chinese agricultural machinery, patented seeds and supporting construction contracts. The role of Beijing in foreign agricultural investment needs to be situated within the broader context of the increase in trade and outward investment from China and not part of some sort of conspiracy.
The role of African agency, something which has often been overlooked by most media reports on the issues, is emphasized by the book. Active partnership between African and Chinese investors demonstrates a level of engagement and negotiation that can only take place with the approval of African governments. Equally, local communities and non-governmental organizations have often resisted foreign investment plans. This is something not uniquely directed against the Chinese but is a wider expression of agency against any proposals seen to potentially damage the livelihood and well-being of Africans.
Overall, the book provides a convincing overview of China's role in Africa regarding agriculture and investment. This is both a strength and perhaps a weakness for some readers. It is a strength given the rich empirical material and the close engagement with the issue at hand; it is a weakness in that it is narrowly focused on but one element of the Chinese role in the continent. The possible weakness does not overshadow the strengths, however, and given the plethora of generalized overviews of broad Sino-African relations, its narrow focus is probably justified. If I was to critique the book it would probably be at the overall stance of the book, which seems aimed at clearing China's name. Within the study of China–Africa relations, some scholars (including, remarkably, some non-Chinese) seem to have taken the attitude that their role in life is to defend China from all criticism. Deborah Bräutigam is not one of these, but at times the book does stray in this particular direction. Yet, given the myths around China's role in Africa, the book is a very valuable addition to the field and empirically grounded research means that it cannot be discounted. It is a major contribution to our understanding of the dynamics in Sino-African relations.
