Cultivating connections or sowing discord? a case study of private and official Chinese agricultural investments in Tanzania

Purpose This study aims to examine the distinct impacts of private and state-led Chinese agricultural investments on land rights, community dynamics and socio-economic development in Tanzania, applying social capital theory as an analytical framework to understand how different investment models integrate – or fail to integrate – within local communities. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods comparative case study design is employed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with five Chinese farm owners and workers, participatory observation across four farm sites, and systematic review of government policies, investment records and media sources. One state-led and four private Chinese farms were selected from operational agricultural enterprises registered with the Tanzania Investment Centre. Findings Private Chinese investments, although smaller in scale, demonstrate greater adaptability to local land tenure norms and community relations than state-led initiatives. Both investment types exhibit strong bonding social capital within Chinese expatriate networks but weak bridging social capital with Tanzanian communities. Corruption, cultural barriers and language differences further impede cross-community integration and constrain the developmental impact of both models. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to five farms in Tanzania, constraining generalisability of findings to other national contexts. Nonetheless, findings inform policy recommendations for Tanzanian and Chinese governments, including greater transparency in land acquisition, participatory planning processes and cultural and language integration programmes to strengthen bridging social capital between investors and host communities. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the few studies to explicitly differentiate between state-led and private Chinese agricultural investments in Africa. It offers novel empirical evidence on how investment type shapes social capital formation and community outcomes in rural Tanzania, advancing social capital theory within the context of South–South foreign direct investment.