Agricultural experts have called for a halt to moves by Gulf investors to snap up foreign land, amid claims that poor nations are losing much-needed farmland in a calculated land grab.
Ministro das Relações Exteriores das Ilhas Maurício diz que seu governo assegurou uma vasta área de terra em Moçambique para produzir arroz para seu país.
A Hassad Food advisor explained to Emboff September 3 that the company tailors its involvement in each country to the preferences of its partner in order to minimize local "backlash" to the company's actions.
"Over the past few weeks the Saudi government has been in talks with us to lease 500,000 acres (202,400 hectares) of farmland and we are currently in the process of locating which land we could give them," Tauqir Ahmad Faiq at the ministry of agriculture, said
"It appears that offering our lands to foreign investors has always figured in the official agenda of Arroyo’s numerous state visits to other countries since assuming office, presumably in line with her "2 million hectares agribusiness development program," Anakpawis party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano of the Philippines said
Hassad Food's priority in business partnership and export will be given to Arabic and Islamic countries. “A big project will be launched in the near future between Qatar and Sudan. The budget is open as no minimum or maximum limit has been considered so it will be a big project.”
“We are looking for opportunities where we can work with partners owning or running farmlands and having expansion plans. We do not want to take away the land of the poor,” the chairman of Hassad Food says.
La crisis del fósforo (clave para la vida), un grave y nuevo reto para la Humanidad. Respuestas capitalistas a la decadencia de la agricultura mundial y alternativas proletarias. Eslóganes.
Hassad Food, owned by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, will buck the Gulf Arab trend of buying farmland abroad to secure food supplies and consider taking stakes in agricultural companies instead, its chairman said.
Most of the Orma and Pokomo communities living in the Tana River delta do not have title deeds and a government agency claims ownership of the land, but locals say the land was handed to them by their ancestors.
“It is the height of stupidity for our country to bargain our lands for the sake of other nation’s food security, while being dependent on importation for our very own food security needs,” says Rafael Mariano
The Philippine government hopes it can sideline land reform by leasing lands to foreign governments and corporations.
