The growing land conflict and land grab in Africa and Uganda in particular is a major challenge not only to livelihoods of the poor peasant rural farmers, but is also causing environmental genocide.
The amount of productive farmland being taken out of New Zealand hands each year has dropped off sharply in the past decade, figures show. But those opposed to overseas ownership of land say the best land has already been cherry-picked by foreign buyers who push prices up.
Iowa State University is no longer an adviser on an agricultural project in Tanzania led by Iowa-based AgriSol Energy.
After analysing Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay, Russia, the Ukraine and some other African countries, the board of SLC Agrícola settled on Mozambique because of its greater political stability and incentives offered by the government.
Despite the African Union's commitment to strengthening women's access and control of land by placing land rights in the domain of human rights, it is silent on the issue of land grabs. This is a gap that the AU needs to plug.
“This so-called joint venture smacks of land-grabbing and conflict of interest on the part of President Aquino’s political lieutenant in the Gulf.” – Danilo Ramos, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
Vanderbilt students and faculty staged a teach-in to voice disapproval of the university's investment practices, specifically claims that Vanderbilt investments in African land have negatively impacted local communities.
Sub-Saharan African agriculture investor EmVest Asset Management has received its first allocation from London-based Truestone Impact Investment Management, which focuses on delivering market rate returns from social and environmental investments.
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The option for Oman to boost its food security by investing in overseas farmland is still open, with interest shown by 'a number of countries,' according to H E Dr Fouad bin Ja'afar al Sajwani, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Communities without economic power that live off of land to which they do not “own” are devastated when their government transfers the property rights to wealthy outside interests, who exploit the natural resources.
The report outlines elements of a Global New Deal including developing principles for responsible agricultural investment.
Entities such as USAID, the World Bank, and major U.S. universities are often the architects behind these land deals, which promise benefits for Africans but can often deliver food insecurity and displacement.