The UAE controls more than 2,800 square kilometers [280,000 ha] in farms in Sudan -- more than triple the area of Bahrain -- as a result of its decision to invest in agricultural projects in fertile Arab nations to slash its soaring food import bill

La ruée des pays et des groupes étrangers vers l’or vert africain inquiète experts et ONG. Reste que le phénomène est difficilement quantifiable, nombre d’annonces d’accords n’étant pas suivies d’effet. Dossier Jeune Afrique.

Les expériences de Daewoo et de Varun présentent les ingrédients d’une implantation agro-industrielle condamnée à l’échec. Ces éléments d’une stratégie « perdant-perdant » peuvent se résumer en trois points.

50 ans après les indépendances, l’Occident et les pays émergents font main basse sur le sol et le sous-sol du continent: l’on estime à des millions d’hectares, les superficies déjà acquises dans plusieurs pays. L’Union africaine en ordre de bataille pour faire barrage.

International investors from Britain to South Africa have begun putting money into infrastructure development and transport, and about 200 exiled Zimbabwean farmers have taken leases from the Zambian government to develop farmland in the country.

"Après l’absence d’investissements depuis les années 1980, c’est vrai qu’il y a un regain d’intérêt pour les pays du sud, là où la terre est disponible et la main-d’oeuvre peu chère. Mais les retombées pour les pays hôtes sont insignifiantes."

Over the past year, I have been collecting material on biofuels, land rights in Africa, and global land grabbing. Reading through this material worries me greatly, for it carries very strong echoes of Cecil Rhodes and his merry men.

Wary of fluctuations on Wall Street, more wealthy Americans, private funds and foreigners are putting money into parcels of cornfields, fruit orchards and other US agricultural products.

Du point de vue de GRAIN, ce rapport très attendu de la Banque mondiale est à la fois une déception et un échec.

«Les Africains peuvent se nourrir eux-mêmes, répète Hans Rudolf Herren. A condition que leurs terres ne soient pas livrées aux marchés mondiaux, mais restent entre leurs mains».

GRAIN says the World Bank's much anticipated report on the global farmland grab is both a disappointment and a failure.

Le Briefing régional sur le développement rural en Afrique Centrale « Accès à la terre, acquisitions de terres et développement rural: nouveaux enjeux, nouvelles opportunités » se tiendra à Yaoundé, Cameroun, les 27 et 28 septembre 2010

A CTA Rural Development Briefing in Central Africa on “Land access, land acquisitions and rural development: New challenges, new opportunities” will be held in Yaoundé, Cameroun, on 27-28th September 2010

The World Bank has backed the controversial practice of countries selling large tracts of agricultural land to overseas investors but is urging vendors to demand much more to increase their farming productivity and peoples’ livelihoods.

« Un étranger s’installe au Brésil et peut acheter la quantité de terre qu’il veut. Dans le même temps, il y a 4,2 millions de familles qui n’ont pas accès à la terre, c’est-à-dire plus de 12 millions de personnes, » signale Gilberto Portes

No-one should be surprised when people start describing the Merauke Integrated Rice Estate as a clear case of genocide by the Indonesian government, because it has been well-planned and well-organised.

States and mega-corporations are snapping up cheap land to produce food and making money at the expense of people in host countries.

La revue EcoRev’ a demandé à Agter de présenter son analyse du phénomène d’accaparement des terres agricoles dans le cadre de son numéro d’été consacré à l’agriculture

Since GCC countries have the required financial capacity and advanced financial systems, they can benefit from investment opportunities in agricultural production in CIS, where Gulf funds may bring about significant changes in the production and trade in food commodities in global markets

To speak only of the ‘threats and potential opportunities’ that these investments highlight leaves underexposed the grave risks to human rights that they pose, writes Dr. Margot Salomon, from the London School of Economics

"The land rights of the poor defenseless indigenous person is the biggest peace initiative of today and it’s the biggest climate issue of today," says Vandana Shiva

The paper attempts to present an integrated look at international investments in agriculture from a systems perspective, focusing on Arab investments in Sudan.

Study says creation of a farm fund is crucial for the success of Arab agricultural projects aimed at achieving self-sufficiency since most fertile countries in the region lack sufficient investments.

"We support continued efforts to develop principles for investment in the agricultural sector undertaken by the World Bank, regional development banks, FAO, UNCTAD, and IFAD," say G8 heads of state.

Responsible investment in agriculture is preferably not about large scale foreign land acquisitions. It is about promoting sustainable agriculture, reducing poverty and meeting the world’s food needs, says IFAD's Harold Liversage

The African Agriculture Fund and its portfolio companies commit themselves to these principles and guidelines in undertaking agricultural and agribusiness investments across Africa.

The National Farmers Union is warning that the Canadian family farm is under threat from increased corporate control and foreign ownership.

ILC is actually trying to promote some sort of dialogue between the different proposals for principles for responsible farmland investment

With the emerging land investments a new set of challenges emerges for the woman farmer.

En privant effectivement les paysans locaux de leurs terres et en perpétuant souvent « des méthodes agricoles nuisibles à l’environnement », cette évolution menace d’avoir des conséquences très négatives pour les petits exploitants, et en particulier les femmes