Alamirew PhD, BamlakSeyoum, Fasica2019-10-012023-11-182019-10-012023-11-182019http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/12345678/19275Large scale agricultural investments (LASI) have grabbed the local as well as international investors’ attention following the 2007/08 world food crisis. LSAI’s are believed to bring local development opportunities for the rural community in developing countries. Governments of developing countries including Ethiopia have been trying to convince local and international investors to engage in the sector hoping to alleviate their local development issues thereby acquiring foreign currency. The justification given by the GoE to the leasing of large tracts of arable lands both to domestic and foreign investors is that it is the key for triggering modernization in the agricultural sector and part of country development strategy to ensure food security. Therefore the study is conducted to investigate the impact of large scale agricultural investments towards local development in Gambella, Ethiopia. Primary data collected from household survey and secondary data from government offices were used. The analysis was done descriptively as well as econometrically using STATA 13 and SPSS 23 software. The econometric analysis of the study is conducted using PSM (Propensity Score Matching). The findings of the study, showed that large scale agricultural investments have a positive and significant impact towards local development expressed in terms of employment, technology transfer and infrastructure development. This implies, if properly administered, LSAI’s could bring local development to the local community. Key words: - Large Scale Agricultural Investments; Local Development; Employment; Technology Transfer; Infrastructure DevelopmentenLarge Scale Agricultural Investments; Local Development; Employment; Technology Transfer; Infrastructure DevelopmentThesis