The Political Economy of Land Grabbing and Its Consequences for Smallholder Farm Management in South South Nigeria

Large-scale land acquisitions, commonly referred to as land grabbing, have been documented across sub-Saharan Africa as a consequence of commercial agriculture expansion, extractive industry development, and speculative real estate investment, with significant implications for smallholder farm management and rural livelihoods. In Nigeria's South South geopolitical zone, covering Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River States, the intersection of oil industry land use, plantation agriculture, and speculative urban expansion has created a distinctive political economy of land access contestation. This study investigates the political economy of land grabbing and analyses its consequences for smallholder farm management outcomes in South South Nigeria. A multi-sited ethnographic research design was combined with household survey methods, collecting data from 350 farm households in three states including Rivers, Cross River, and Edo. Land acquisition events were documented through community timelines, legal case records, and government approval documents. The political economy of acquisition decisions was analysed using qualitative comparative analysis, identifying the political and economic configurations associated with different acquisition outcomes. Difference-in-differences estimation using matched communities was applied to estimate the causal effect of land acquisition events on farm management outcomes. Results indicate that land acquisition reduced average farm size in affected communities by 44 percent and increased insecure tenure indicators by a significant margin. Smallholders responded by intensifying production on remaining land, shifting to shorter-cycle crops, and increasing off-farm labour supply. The study contributes original political economy analysis of land grabbing dynamics in the Nigerian petroleum zone context and recommends statutory free, prior, and informed consent mechanisms for land acquisition affecting smallholder farming communities. Keywords: land grabbing, political economy, smallholder farm management, South South Nigeria, land rights