Investigating small- scale land-grabbing: factors and livelihoods implications in Salima town

Abstract

Research on land acquisition in Malawi, particularly within the context of land reform programmes, has raised significant concerns regarding equity and fairness. This is primarily due to the pervasive issue of land-grabbing by local elites and investors. Studies on land-grabbing have focussed on large-scale land acquisitions in rural Malawi. This study aimed to investigate small-scale land-grabbing practices in Salima Town by analysing its factors and implications on livelihoods. A mixed methods research design was adopted. The specific objectives were; to assess factors that influence small-scale land-grabbing practices; to analyse the implications of small-scale land-grabbing on livelihoods and to analyse the correlation between small-scale land-grabbing and factors that influence small-scale land-grabbing. Quantitative data were collected through household surveys using a semi-structured questionnaire while qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions using a checklist. Snowball sampling techniques were used. Slovin’s (1960) formula was used to sample 310 households. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics (bar charts, pie charts and Chi-square test), binary logistic regression and Spearman’s Rho correlation coefficient; the analyses were done in IBM SPSS (Version 20). Qualitative data were analysed manually using thematic analysis. The study results revealed that factors that influenced small-scale land-grabbing practices are occupation of household head (β = 2.2, p = 0.003) and family disputes over land; negative changes in livelihoods are contributed by occupation of household head (β =2.22, p < 0.003), income levels of household head (β =0.716, p = 0.047) and food insecurity (β = -0.852, p = 0.002); there was correlation between small-scale land-grabbing and income levels of household head (rho=0.134; p=0.018). The study concluded that occupation of household head and family disputes over land are the main factors that influence small-scale land-grabbing; negative changes in livelihoods due to small-scale land-grabbing were contributed by occupation of household head, income levels of household head and food insecurity of a household; income levels of household head and small-scale land-grabbing practices have a weak positive correlation. The study recommended that policymakers, land managers, and urban planners should increase advocacy for equitable and transparent land deals for urban land to ensure social-economic development in Malawi. Further research should be done at a wider scale in Salima Town since the study only focussed on parcels of land shared by two villages in Salima Town.