Namibia: How corruption affects women's land rights

Corrupt practices in the context of large-scale land-based investments in Africa contribute to the unauthorised conversion of customary land to commercial land, to the detriment of poor rural women's access

03 Apr 2019 The Namibian

UN’s SABL response due in seven days

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination asked the PNG government yet again, to respond to concerns that PNG continues to authorise the exploitation of indigenous land by foreign companies through SABLs.

03 Apr 2019 Post-Courier

Nowhere to go: Myanmar farmers under siege from land law

The Myanmar government has tightened a law on so-called 'vacant, fallow and virgin' land, and farmers are at risk.

03 Apr 2019 Al Jazeera

« Nous avons aussi droit à la vie »

Requête et revendications des femmes vivant autour et à l'intérieur des plantations de palmiers à huile et d'hévéa de la filiale du groupe Socfin/Bolloré (Socapalm) au Cameroun

03 Apr 2019 Synaparcam

Sous-location de terres agricoles: ces Belges qui exploitent les terres picardes

Pourtant interdite, la sous-location de terres agricoles françaises à des exploitants belges se répand dans les Hauts-de-France. Une pratique qui inquiète les autorités et le monde agricole.

02 Apr 2019 Couerrier Picard

One of Africa’s most fertile lands is struggling to feed its own people

Little of the 5 million acres [2.02 million hectares] that Sudan's agriculture ministry estimates are in foreign hands—perhaps less than 1 in 20 acres—has been cultivated.

02 Apr 2019 Bloomberg

The Madhvanis: The industrialists who have tasted sucrose and success

Interview with Mayur and Kamlesh Madhvani, the Joint Managing Directors of the Madhvani Group which controls a 14,000 hectare sugar estate in Uganda

02 Apr 2019 Forbes

Socfin’s response to FIAN’s report on land grabbing for palm oil in Sierra Leone

Socfin denies allegation and argues amongst other things that they went through a lengthy process of consultation with the communities, resulting in an overall acceptance and support to the project

01 Apr 2019 BHRRC

Internal audit reveals Shs 5.3 billion fraud in Bidco

An internal audit conducted by Wilmar International on its subsidiary company, Oil Palm Uganda Limited (OPUL) has revealed a US$1.4 million fraud within the company’s finance department.

01 Apr 2019 Observer

ASEAN guidelines for responsible investment in food, agriculture and forestry

ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry adopted by ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) in October 2018 through a multistakeholder process involving the ASEAN Secretariat, Grow Asia, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation and a World Bank trust fund.

30 Mar 2019 IISD

How land grabbers co-opt indigenous ritual traditions in Papua: Q&A with anthropologist Sophie Chao

Industrial-scale agriculture poses considerable risk to the indigenous peoples of Papua. Anthropologist Sophie Chao has studied the often fraught relationship between Papuans and plantation firms, and the mechanisms through which indigenous people are compelled to give up their land.

29 Mar 2019 Mongabay

139 groups from 26 countries mark ‘Day of the Landless’

In a strong show of support to rural communities asserting their right to land, 139 organizations from 26 countries across Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America, North America and Europe issued a joint statement to mark the Day of the Landless last 29 March with several solidarity actions were also held on the same day.

29 Mar 2019 PAN AP

Day of the Landless 2019: Reclaim our lands, reclaim our future!

29 March is Day of the Landless, it marks the founding anniversary of Asian Peasant Coalition and the launching of No Land, No Life! campaign. 126 organizations from 24 countries are issuing the following statement to commemorate the struggle of rural communities around the world for land and resources.

29 Mar 2019 PAN AP

ING finance l’accaparement de terres en Afrique

Sous la pression de SOCFIN, ING a accepté de maintenir ses financements et donne un sursis de 3 ans supplémentaires à la société pour obtenir une certification RSPO de toutes les plantations.

28 Mar 2019 CNCD et al

Sierra Leone bioenergy project poses new challenges to communities

The Addax Bioenergy project continues to pose challenges to communities in Sierra Leone nine years after its start. In a new turn of events, the whole community of Tonka community has been informed it will be relocated.

28 Mar 2019 Swedwatch

Le groupe Bolloré condamné pour « procédure abusive » contre France TV

Le reportage dénonçait certaines activités de l’entreprise Socapalm qui produit de l’huile de palme au Cameroun et dont Bolloré est actionnaire

28 Mar 2019 Le Parisien

After defaulting on loans, Kilombero Plantation Ltd goes up for sale

Kilombero Plantation Ltd, the Tanzanian subsidiary of Guernsey-registered Agrica Ltd. and “best in class” player in the field of socially responsible ag investments in Africa, is up for sale after defaulting on loans from several financial institutions.

27 Mar 2019 Oakland Institute

As Govt kicks-off investigations into Land disputes in Malen Chiefdom, Green Scenery raises concerns

The Government of Sierra Leone has kicked-off investigations into the continuous and mounting disputes among landowners on how thousands of hectares of lands were taken away from them in Malen Chiefdom, Southern Sierra Leone

27 Mar 2019 Standard Times

In Indonesia, a company intimidates, evicts and plants oil palm without permits

A state-owned plantation company, PTPN XIV, is evicting farmers to make room for an oil palm estate on the eastern Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The case is one of thousands of land disputes simmering across Indonesia.

26 Mar 2019 Mongabay

Milltrust Agricultural Investments acquires 24.9% in newly established NZ farming venture

The acquisition represents the consolidation of a string of investments made over the past six months by Milltrust that together culminate in the formation of a large-scale, integrated dairy and beef farming enterprise in New Zealand.

26 Mar 2019 GAI

Redress for land and resource rights violations: a legal empowerment agenda

To complement litigation efforts, an alternative and flexible mechanism to defending land rights is more effective — tailored to the local context and supporting communities to make informed decisions about what forms of redress to pursue

26 Mar 2019 IIED

Cambodian indigenous communities win back their sacred land from Vietnamese rubber developer

Communities also file second complaint against the World Bank for new financial ties to HAGL

26 Mar 2019 IDI

Are development finance institutions equipped to address land rights issues?

Report by IIED reviews the approaches European and North American bilateral DFIs use to address land rights issues in the agriculture sector.

26 Mar 2019 IIED

Land deals threaten to impair River Nile

Land deals along River Nile could easily impair its recharging potential if water abstraction is not regulated.

26 Mar 2019 New Vision

Foreign ownership of water entitlements reveals China and US are the biggest investors

The Australian Government's long-awaited foreign ownership of water entitlement register reveals one in 10 water entitlements is foreign-owned at 10.4 per cent.

25 Mar 2019 ABC

Who keeps buying California's scarce water? Saudi Arabia

Saudi-based Almarai owns 15,000 acres of an irrigated valley – but what business does a foreign food production company have drawing resources from a US desert?

25 Mar 2019 Guardian

México: Despojan tierras en Yucatán, bajo engaño

Con la complicidad de autoridades civiles, agrarias y representantes ejidales en las comunidades rurales, durante los 10 últimos años ha aumentado la compra venta de tierras; pagan a 5 pesos el metro cuadrado.

25 Mar 2019 La Verdad Noticias

AgroGeneration : Cession de 9 200 hectares de terres agricoles dans l'Est de l'Ukraine

Suite à la cession de 37 700 ha en décembre, la société annonce aujourd'hui la cession de 9 200 ha supplémentaires, toujours en Ukraine. Le Groupe exploitera désormais 70 000 ha dans le pays.

25 Mar 2019 Boursorama

Quelques conseils aux investisseurs pour réduire le risque foncier dans leurs projets agricoles (ODI)

Un nouveau rapport du groupe britannique Overseas Development Institute estime que les disputes foncières sur le continent pourraient coûter jusqu’à 100 millions $ aux investisseurs

25 Mar 2019 Agence Ecofin

Lamissa Diakité, PDG de l’ATI du Mali : « Nous avons besoin d’investissements dans l’agriculture, première source de croissance de l’économie malienne »

Afin d’accélérer le développement de ses terres non exploitées, le Mali s’est doté depuis 2015 d’une entité dédiée, l’Agence d’Aménagement des Terres et de fourniture de l’eau d’Irrigation (ATI)

24 Mar 2019 Africa Presse