News Land Grabbing / Agrofuels – November 2013

 

Stories from Africa

 

COPAGEN against “massive land acquisitions'' at the expense of communities

The Coalition for the Protection of African Genetic Heritage (COPAGEN) (La Coalition pour la protection du patrimoine génétique africain) organized a forum in Dakar on the impact of large-scale land acquisitions on food security and livelihoods of local communities. Forum participants agreed that the phenomenon of land grabbing destroys the biodiversity and the environment and threatens food sovereignty of affected countries. Land grabbers often introduce in an uncontrolled manner genetically modified organisms that threaten local seed and food varieties.

 

 

Read a press article on the forum in French and in English

 

 

Consequences of the expansion of sugar production in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, the government wants to increase sugar production by eight by mid-2015. Ethiopia has many advantages for the production of sugar: a favorable climate, fertile soil and abundant water resources. The public company, the Ethiopian Sugar Corporation, intends to become one of the ten largest exporters of sugar in the world and it began to build additional plants in Ethiopia. Much of this expansion takes place in the Valley of the Omo River, where the public company establishes irrigation systems. The consequences for the local population are disastrous. Under the guise of a voluntary resettlement program, local communities have been evicted from their land without consultation or compensation. The Ethiopian security forces have committed human rights violations such as forced evictions, arbitrary arrests and physical abuse of citizens. In addition, development agencies of the United Kingdom (DFID) and the United States (USAID) are accused of financially supporting these voluntary resettlement programs.

 

 

Read the investment strategy of Ethiopia concerning sugar production  here

 

 

Read an article on the human rights violation in the Valley of the Omo  here

 

 

Senegal : Who is behind the project Senhuile-Senethanol ?

 

A study by GRAIN about the investors behind the Senhuile-Senethanol project in Senegal. The study provides an overview of the financial interests that surround the land acquisition project. The article reveals the links between the different investors of the project.

 

 

Consult the study  here