Neoliberal agribusiness expansion in Nigeria: How JBS’s $2.5bn deal risks land grabs, deforestation, and food sovereignty crises
Original framing: “CSOs demand disclosure of JBS $2.5bn Nigeria deal, warn of livestock expansion risks” — bing news
The Fulani and other pastoralist communities in Nigeria’s Sahelian regions rely on transhumance—seasonal migration with livestock—to navigate drought and resource scarcity, a practice honed over centuries. JBS’s expansion threatens these lands, which are not ‘unused’ but actively managed under indigenous stewardship models that prioritize sustainability over short-term profit. The deal ignores the fact that pastoralist knowledge systems, such as controlled grazing and water management, could inform climate-resilient agriculture if integrated rather than displaced. Legal recognition of communal land rights, as seen in Kenya’s Community Land Act, offers a precedent for protecting these systems, but Nigeria lacks such protections, leaving pastoralists vulnerable to corporate land grabs.
The JBS deal in Nigeria is not merely a corporate transaction but a microcosm of the global power imbalances that shape land, food, and climate justice.
It exposes how agribusiness conglomerates, enabled by complicit governments and financial institutions, prioritize short-term profit over ecological and social stability, while marginalizing the very communities whose knowledge could mitigate the risks of industrial expansion. Historical patterns—from colonial land grabs to the 2008 land rush—demonstrate that such deals rarely deliver on their promises of ‘development,’ instead deepening inequality and environmental degradation. The solution lies in centering indigenous and pastoralist knowledge, legally recognizing communal land rights, and shifting investments toward regenerative agroecological models that respect cultural and ecological integrity. Without these systemic changes, Nigeria risks repeating the mistakes of the past, where corporate tricksterism disguises exploitation as progress, leaving future generations to bear the consequences.