A common topic that often emerges in the economic literature’s discussions on the high cost of transport in Africa is the lack and the poor status of infrastructure linking the different countries and regions in the continent. This factor is usually indicated as the main reason for the high price of African products and of the inability of Africa to compete in international markets. Instead, a less debated argument are the difficult geographical conditions faced by many African States - especially in Sub-Saharan Africa – that frequently need to cope up with floods, droughts, storms, and other natural disasters causing premature deterioration of such infrastructure and increased maintenance costs.

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An article published on Bilaterals (a website that is notoriously critical about free trade, especially among countries with different development levels), argues that the AfCFTA Protocol on Investment could lead to a surge in land grabbing in Africa, especially by foreign investors, if not correctly implemented by State Parties. Land grabbing is the practice by foreign companies, nations, or individuals of purchasing or leasing large portions of land in Africa for agricultural production. Land grabbing is a growing concern in Africa which raises the risk of abuses in the forced expropriation of plots occupied by poor local and indigenous peoples.

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