"The motivation for South African farmers is simple," said Theo de Jager, Agri SA's deputy president, who helped negotiate the deal. "One in four farms must be redistributed in the next four or five years. So for new entrants into the sector and for those farmers who want to expand there is nowhere to go."
Can these deals benefit Africa? Have you been affected by one of these land deals? Should countries be leasing fertile land to foreign investors? Join a live BBC debate on 21 October 2009.
South Africa has signed a deal with the Republic of Congo that will give SA farmers access to up to 10 million ha of farmland, the country's biggest farmers' union said on Tuesday.
“The deal has been finalized and they have made land available free of charge,” Agri SA said. There’s no restriction on exports. The only condition is that the land is used.
Congolese officials say the land is made up of abandoned farms that the state used to operate.
While Agri SA has been leading a push for South African farmers to invest and farm in a number of other countries across Africa, including the Republic of Congo, Libya and Zambia, the union has urged its members to stay away from countries where South Africa has no investment protection agreements.
South Africa said on Friday it had been offered 48 square miles of land in Angola and Uganda and also a land lease agreement in Zambia.
South African farmers have been offered land for agriculture in Angola and Uganda and the government is also in talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Southern Sudan.
La Libye cherche à s’assurer des terres agricoles à l'étranger pour accroître son autonomie alimentaire, ce qui ne l'empêche pas de louer ses propres terres à d'autres pays !
AgriSA expects to sign a 35,000 hectare land deal with the Libyan government in October.
A multi-million hectare land deal allowing South Africans to farm in the Republic of Congo is expected to be finalised by mid October, South Africa's main farmers union said on Wednesday.
The Republic of Congo expects to finalize a multimillion hectare land deal with South African farmers by the end of this year, Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso said on Tuesday.
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