There is currently much talk of the role of the 'rising pouuers' in Africa, and ujhether their engagements represent a 'neuu paradigm' in development cooperation. This article introduces this IDS Bulletin and examines Brazilian and Chinese agricultural development cooperation in Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. A uuide variety of forms of support are seen, involving different financial modalities, including aid, concessional loans, trade deals and commercial investment. Our focus is on the 'encounters' that occur during negotiations and the intersection of wider framing discourses uuith practices on the ground in particular projects. Brazilian and Chinese domestic political dynamics, competing social imaginaries and histories of agrarian change all shape development cooperation. Meanwhile, African governments are not just passive recipients; they exert agency in negotiations, trading off different players. Outcomes depend on the particular context, and the neuu aid and investment scene inAfrican agriculture is highly varied, presenting opportunities as uuell as challenges for the future.
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