ABSTRACT
This chapter presents evidence indicating that there are both intentional and unintentional appropriation and expropriation processes that could contribute to the emergence of land concentration in savanna West Africa. Two processes create land concentration: those which lead to the acquisition of land by some and those which lead to its loss by others. The chapter analyzes land concentration in Burkina Faso and explores whether the Burkinabe findings are applicable throughout the region. It describes three land concentration processes that are at least partially dependent upon donor investments: parastatal land appropriation, “demographic” land expropriation, and private land appropriation. The chapter shows that a consequence of these processes is the creation of “existential” opportunity structures. It focuses on other areas of West Africa in a comparative analysis to indicate that land concentration processes similar to those in Burkina Faso are occurring throughout the West African savanna.
