Towards a science of 'land grabbing'

In the past two decades, large-scale land transactions (LSLTs), commonly known as land grabs or large-scale land acquisitions, have been pursued by agricultural investors and host-country governments in Lower- and MiddleIncome Countries (LMIC) to boost crop yield. Existing knowledge on LSLTs is highly diverse, generated by scholars taking a wide range of perspectives and frameworks. However, the global patterns of LSLT-related research and their potential shortcomings remain under-investigated. In this paper, we analyze 370 peerreviewed papers on LSLTs to advance this field of knowledge towards a science of 'land grabbing'. Our findings reveal that 1) research on LSLTs displays geographical imbalances; 2) global statistics do not fully capture the complexity of LSLTs on the ground; 3) different disciplinary interests and theoretical traditions result in different use of terms in referring to LSLTs and divergent impressions of their social consequences; and 4) the environmental consequences of LSLTs are under-studied relatively. We suggest that a better understanding of LSLTs could result from greater engagement with each discipline's strength and epistemic frameworks.

Automated summary

This paper analyzes 370 peer-reviewed papers on large-scale land transactions (LSLTs) to advance knowledge in the field of 'land grabbing'. The findings reveal geographical imbalances in research, the limitations of global statistics in capturing the complexity of LSLTs, different use of terms and divergent impressions of social consequences due to disciplinary interests and theoretical traditions, and the relatively under-studied environmental consequences of LSLTs. It suggests that a better understanding of LSLTs can be achieved through greater engagement with each discipline's strengths and epistemic frameworks.