Solvent Extractors' Association

Ils exigent entre autres la rétrocession des terres arrachées par ces entreprises, filiales du groupe Socfin basé au Luxembourg. Les manifestants sont venus de tous les coins du Cameroun où ces structures détiennent des plantations.

India’s plan to lease farm land in Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi to grow pulses for domestic consumers is not the first such project

In a bid to ensure food security for the country, Indian solvent extractors have sought government support to buy agricultural land abroad.

The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, a body of over 800 edible oil producing companies, is looking to buy tracts of agricultural land in South America, Africa and Myanmar.

The Solvent Extractors Association, the Indian oilseeds industry body, has formed a consortium of 18 companies to acquire 10,000 hectares of prime farmland in a $40-million deal in Uruguay and Paraguay to cultivate oilseeds and pulses. The association says they are hamstrung only by access to finance, otherwise they have it all sewn up.

Ramakrishna Karuturi does not feature on any international power list. Perhaps he should.

India's edible oil industry, which has been trying over the past couple of years to venture into oilseeds cultivation in Paraguay and Uruguay, but could not make much headway due to high cost of finance, is charged up again to take fresh initiatives to realise the dream project.

Driven by food security concerns, about 15 companies, led by the State Trading Corporation (STC), have formed a consortium to engage in corporate farming either in Paraguay or Uruguay. Among other notable firms that have joined the consortium are Gujarat Ambuja, Ruchi Soya Industries and Jhunjhunwala Vanaspati Ltd.

The Indian government is considering a proposal to enable banks and financial institutions to finance acquisition of farm land overseas for cultivation of pulses and oilseeds.

Some of India's top vegetable oil firms plan to lease or buy land in Paraguay, Uruguay and Myanmar to grow oilseeds and lentils as farmland shrinks in the South Asian nation, a top trade official said yesterday.

Contributing their bit to the global Indian takeover, the government and India Inc plan to buy sizeable land abroad for cultivation. Seen as a long-term answer to keep prices of farm products under control, the grand plan envisages acquisition of large tracts of land in neighbouring countries like Myanmar and far off places like Paraguay.

The Solvent Extraction Association, currently visiting South America, will come up with a techno-feasibility report on carrying out contract farming by Indian companies either in Argentina, Paraguay or Uruguay.