(Ecofin Agency) - According to Thinking Africa’s recent ranking of African countries that have given out (sold or allocated) most of their arable lands to foreign investors since 2000, Madagascar comes at the top with more than 3.7 million hectares of agricultural lands.

The Island is followed by Ethiopia with 3.2 million hectares, the Democratic Republic of Congo with 2.8 million hectares, Tanzania with 2 million hectares and Sudan with 1.6 million hectares.

While some analysts considers the phenomenon a “shameful” grabbing of arable lands which could be used for other purposes, others see it as an opportunity to use foreign capitals to develop African countries for a better agricultural productivity.

In fact, unlike Edoh Komlan, researcher and geographer at the University of Lomé who told the Anadolu Agency that this was a “difficult situation whereforeigners are taking control over part of Africa’s heritage, causing marginalization and loss of sovereignty”, the Lead Director of the Sahel and West Africa Club (CSAO in French), Jean Zoundi Sibiri, rather sees it as an opportunity magnet. “We should refrain from diabolizing the phenomenon and rather focus on distinguishing project developers who come to Africa just to produce, export and make profits from African nations that establish agricultural policies aiming to meet their respective local demands,” Sibiri told Slate Afrique.

Thinking Africa revealed in its study that all the lands sold and allocated by Africa over a quarter century generated close to $100 billion. As for the most active investors in Africa’s agricultural land market, they are mainly Chinese (4.5 million hectares), Americans (3.2 million hectares), British (2.5 million hectares), Malaysians (2.5 million hectares), South Koreans (2.3 million) and Saudi (2.1 million).

Data used to produce the ranking by the think tank which regroups young researchers, experts and scholars, was collected in reports from institutions such as the African Union, the UN and the World Bank.

Souha Touré