A corporation led by Africa’s richest man, has announced plans for a huge expansion of agricultural plantations.Secretive billionaire Aliko Dangote intends to invest nearly $5 billion in expanding oil palm, soy and sugarcane production in Nigeria.
New oil plantations grab land and destroy the environment in e.g. Sierra Leone. But there is a fair and environmentally friendly alternative way.
No new plantation has succeeded since Mozambique's independence, but this has not stopped Frelimo leaders from dreaming of giant mechanised farms funded by hundreds of millions of dollars from abroad.
Bulgaria’s government has drafted legislative amendments to exempt European Union citizens from restrictions on buying agricultural land, as the country could face huge financial sanctions from the EU if it does not.
Hundreds of Myanmar farmers entered a seventh day of protest over land grabs, demanding the government return seized fields and protect them from a surge in prosecutions over property disputes.
Dangote Group says it is also “at the planning stage’’ to invest in other agricultural projects including production of soybean, oil palm, palm kernel and corn.
On 11 July, Brazil's President signed into law important new legislation (MP 759) that paves the way for land thieves, who have illegally occupied and cleared vast areas of public land, to legalize their land holdings.
Latin America is the most dangerous region in the world for activists fighting for their land or trying to safeguard the environment, according to a Global Witness report, which also provides insight into why these defenders are at such high risk.
Data released by London-based campaign group Global Witness showed that 49 of 200 land rights activists killed last year were from South America's largest country, making Brazil the world's most dangerous nation for campaigners.
Nearly four people were murdered each week last year while defending their homes, lands and forests from mining, dams and agricultural projects.
the Iowa-based company has build up a diverse portfolio of ag operations in the U.S., and has begun to build a significant presence in Brazilian farmland and biofuels
“In these supposedly win-win contracts, I would like to know what our communities are gaining. On the contrary, we are losing and even dying a slow death.”
