At least 100 farmers joined a protest in front of the Department of Agriculture in Quezon City led by the members of the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) in the Philippines such as the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), AMIHAN (National Federation of Peasant Women), UMA (Union of Agricultural Workers), and the PAMALAKAYA (National Federation of Small Fisherfolks of the Philippines). Also present is the Anakpawis partylist and the National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates (NNARA)-Youth.

“This so-called joint venture smacks of land-grabbing and conflict of interest on the part of President Aquino’s political lieutenant in the Gulf.” – Danilo Ramos, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas

The militant peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) today called on the House of Representatives’ committees on agrarian reform and agriculture to conduct a probe and shoot down a $300-million land lease deal the government entered into with Bahrain.

Bahrain’s Nadir and Ibrahim Sons of Hassan Group has signed a $50 million agriculture investment deal with AMA Group Holdings to use public land to grow crops including sugar, rice and bananas.

Food security is back on the agenda with a bang, but while countries with money but little land want to invest elsewhere, few efforts are as emotive as a global "land grab".

Hassan Group will cultivate 4,000 hectares of arable land in India to produce fruits (banana), rice and sugarcane for the Bahraini market.

The Philippine government has identified 10,000 ha for the Bahrain banana project in Davao del Norte. It also awaits follow-up visits from Saudi Arabia to finalize a $238.6m deal the kingdom committed to invest in fruit, aquaculture and halal food production.

LABOR has demanded the Coalition back foreign investment in the farm sector after it said he would be prepared to limit foreign purchases.

Bahrain and the Philippines have signed an agreement to set up a $500 million joint agricultural company to help achieve food sufficiency in the kingdom and the GCC states.