Land markets in Africa? Participation, measurement, and challenges for development and sustainability

Abstract of the Paper

Empirical research conducted in earlier decades indicated that rural farmland markets in many countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) were growing rapidly, while delivering both efficiency and equity gains to smallholder tenants and landlords. This study updates these earlier findings by analyzing nationally representative survey data from nine countries in SSA collected between 2008 and 2023. Contrary to the findings from previous decades, these newer data indicate mostly stagnant growth in land rental markets in recent decades. To inform these findings, we synthesized the relevant existing literature. We believe discrepancy between early and recent evidence of land rental participation growth rates may stem from two sources: first, there is increasing evidence of measurement error arising from survey designs and sampling frames. Second, persistent frictions caused by significant transaction costs may have constrained land rental market growth beyond initial stages, limiting the ability of these markets to deliver efficiency and equity gains.