Misapprehensions about "empty" or "vacant" land
Land that is leased or sold is often perceived inaccurately to be ‘vacant’ or ‘idle’,when in fact it is often settled or used by pastoralists and/or indigenous groups. These groups usually lack official land title, furthering investor perceptions that land is unclaimed.
Research in the Democratic Republic of Congo found that so-called vacant land was actually occupied by villages with populations of between 500 and 7000 people. In Mali 10 per cent of the irrigated land, comprising thirty villages, is now in Libyan hands.