Agriculture is an important driver of land-use change across the Congo Basin, but conventional land-use datasets do not always capture the full picture.
This insight brief presents new spatial analysis led by Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), using spatial analysis, satellite imagery and field evidence to examine dispersed agricultural systems and smallholder production across Central Africa.
The analysis highlights how agriculture often occurs within mixed forest–agriculture landscapes rather than clearly defined plantations. Smallholder mosaics, agroforestry systems and dispersed agricultural expansion can therefore remain poorly represented in conventional land-use data.
What the brief highlights
The brief draws attention to several aspects of agricultural expansion that are often overlooked:
- Dispersed agricultural systems: Agricultural expansion across many Congo Basin landscapes is fragmented and occurs gradually across wider mosaics.
- Smallholder production: Smallholder-dominated systems can be difficult to capture through datasets focused primarily on industrial plantations and large-scale clearing.
- Oil palm outside industrial plantations: The analysis estimates 6.53 million hectares of oil palm outside industrial plantations, illustrating the scale of agricultural activity that may be missed by conventional approaches.
- Mixed production landscapes: Agriculture frequently exists alongside forests and other land uses, rather than in clearly separated production zones.
- Spatial planning gaps: Agricultural and conservation planning are often developed separately, despite operating across the same landscapes.
Why this matters
Understanding agricultural expansion requires looking beyond the most visible forms of land-use change.
When planning focuses primarily on industrial agriculture, it can overlook the cumulative effects of dispersed smallholder systems. Bringing these systems into land-use analysis can improve visibility of landscape pressures and help reduce planning blind spots.
The brief also highlights the importance of considering where and how agricultural expansion takes place, alongside crop type and production levels. Improving productivity before expanding cultivated areas can, under some conditions, help reduce pressure on intact forests, although outcomes depend on the location and pattern of expansion.
From evidence to better planning
Better spatial evidence can help bring often-overlooked agricultural systems into land-use planning and improve coordination between agriculture, conservation and other sectors operating across the same landscapes.
The brief therefore contributes to a broader understanding of how production systems function within real landscapes and how this evidence can support more coherent approaches to land-use planning, conservation and sustainable landscape management in the Congo Basin.
About the research
The research was conducted by Liverpool John Moores University under the GEF-7 Congo Basin Integrated Programme. It combines spatial analysis, satellite imagery and field evidence to examine the impact of dispersed agricultural systems and smallholder production on land-use pressures in Central Africa.
Download the insight brief to find out more