The European External Investment Plan (EIP) is the EU’s new plan to boost development, growth and jobs in Africa. The EIP encourages private companies to invest in the continent, and aims to mobilise private funding to fill the gap that public resources such as grants cannot fill. Oxfam warns that while private sector cooperation in aid activities creates new opportunities, it also brings additional risks such as not putting the interests of local people first, and limiting investment to middle-income countries, neglecting the world’s poorest nations.
This paper analyses the agricultural investment window of the EIP (opportunities for private companies to invest in agribusiness under the EIP). Oxfam and other NGOs advise what the EIP should look like, highlighting concerns and issues that need to be considered in agricultural activities under the EIP. It includes recommendations on how to make sure the plan supports small-scale farmers – the backbone of the economy in most African countries.