Investors hungry for agriculture

• The Australian
• 27 April 2013

There is "a wall of money" looking for a home in agricultural investments worldwide, say managers for BlackRock's London-based World Agriculture Fund.

Probe confirms Singapore-based palm oil company engaged in land-grabbing in Borneo

• Mongabay
• 26 April 2013

An independent investigation has shown that First Resources Ltd failed to obtain proper consent from local communities before clearing rainforests for plantations in Indonesian Borneo, an Indonesian indigenous rights group reported last week.

Sudan police break up protest against land sale to Arab investors

• Reuters
• 26 April 2013

Sudanese police used tear gas and batons to break up a protest of more than 250 people on Friday demanding that the government revoke the sale of farming land to Gulf Arab investors

Come grab our land

• IPS
• 25 April 2013

Government structures across West and Central Africa are now “in a bind and divided, with some ministries choosing to hand over natural resources to agribusinesses and mining, and others seeking to protect the rights of their citizens,” according to Andy White, coordinator of RRI

Is our country part of the “wild west”? A moratorium on large-scale land leases for agriculture is urgently needed in Sierra Leone.

• Green Scenery
• 24 April 2013

Green Scenery calculates that 60% of the total area in Pujehun district is already being, or could soon be converted for large-scale industrial agriculture, primarily for oil palm plantations.

Mysterious lake threatens Ethiopian sugar ambitions

• Bloomberg
• 24 April 2013

Authorities have attributed the growth of a saline lake to irrigation runoff, including that from a company bought this year from the government by Horizon Plantations, a venture majority owned by Mohamed al- Amoudi, the largest single investor in Ethiopia.

On shaky ground: Risks in land investments

• Shareaction & FOE
• 24 April 2013

The briefing suggests a series of questions for asset owners to pose when considering a land investment either directly or via a shareholding to enable them to make an informed risk assessment.

Ethiopians stormed World Bank in Washington DC

• Daily Independent
• 23 April 2013

Ethiopians stormed the 17th Street Office complex of the World Bank in Washington DC, protesting the bank’s alleged support for land grab and ethnic cleansing by President Girma Wolde-Giorgis

Good grab, bad grab

• The Water Channel
• 23 April 2013

With the large and sometimes overexposed attention for land grabbing in Africa, good examples tend to be forgotten

Encouraging pension funds to divest from land grabbing activities

• Blue & Green Tomorrow
• 22 April 2013

Friends of the Earth is running an ethical pension campaign to encourage investors to ask their providers if they invest in land grabbing activities. Emma Websdale spoke with campaigner Kirtana Chandrasekaran to discuss why it is such an important issue.

UK company defends wheat project claims

• The Land
• 22 April 2013

Capital Alternatives, which offers investments ranging from holdings in African agriculture to pop memorabilia, claims it can generate returns of more than 20% over five years on West Australian wheat farms.

Swedish buffer fund AP2 under scrutiny from NGO over Brazilian farmland investments

• Responsible Investor
• 22 April 2013

Sweden’s SEK227.3bn (€26.7bn) state buffer fund Andra AP-fonden (AP2) has been accused of a lack of transparency and snapping up cheap agricultural land in Brazil by campaign group Swedwatch. AP2 denies the allegations.