. Solar Energy News .




.
AFRICA NEWS
Ethiopia: Thousands driven out in land grab
by Staff Writers
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (UPI) Jan 18, 2012


Human rights activists say tens of thousands of people in western Ethiopia are being driven off fertile ancestral lands so the government can lease or sell large tracts of farmland for commercial agriculture to investors, including foreign governments.

Since the 2008 global food crisis wealthy Middle Eastern states, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and others, such as India and China, have been buying up vast areas of arable land across Africa to grow food to feed their burgeoning populations.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization estimated in 2011 that over the last decade global food prices have risen an average 83 percent.

Human Rights Watch said this month in a report titled "Waiting for Death," that the Addis Ababa regime of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is forcibly moving tens of thousands of villagers out of the remote Gambella region of western Ethiopia.

Human Rights Watch said the people received little compensation and were moved to villages elsewhere that have inadequate food and lack health and education facilities.

By 2013, Addis Ababa plans to resettle 1.5 million people from Gambella and the regions of Afar, Somali and Benishangul-Gumuz, Human Rights Watch said.

Gambella, the size of Belgium, has a population of 607,000. Its richly fertile soil has attracted foreign and domestic investors who have leased large tracts at "favorable prices."

Between 2008 and last January, Human Rights Watch said, Ethiopia had leased out at least 9.5 million acres of land.

The report says the government has repeatedly denied the clearances are linked to large-scale land-leasing for commercial agriculture. But Human Rights Watch said many villagers it interviewed claim they were told this was the reason.

These land grabs have been widely criticized as a new form of neo-colonialism that leaves large parts of Africa in the hands of foreign states and investors while displaced local populations are left to suffer and go hungry.

In 2010 up to 123.5 million acres of African land -- double the size of Britain -- have been snapped up or is being negotiated by governments or wealthy investors, various assessments conclude.

Ethiopia alone has approved 815 foreign-financed agricultural projects since 2007.

Last fall, Oxfam International reported that Asian and Middle East companies had bought up 560 million acres of farmland in developing countries, often at bargain prices, with some reportedly less than $1 a hectare.

Oxfam estimated Ethiopia now supports the export of fruit and vegetables worth $60 million annually, as well as flowers worth $160 million per year.

It noted that Ethiopia's per capita income is around $1,000 per year. That's less than Haiti, often listed as the world's poorest country at $1,200 per year.

Rich Arab states like Saudi Arabia have bought up huge tracts of land across Africa in recent years in a bid to combat global food shortages, water scarcity and desertification and to feed their swelling populations.

But now the scramble for Africa is intensifying, with investment banks, hedge funds, commodity traders, sovereign wealth funds, corporations and business tycoons out to grab some of the world's cheapest land -- for profit.

China has leased 6.91 million acres in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the world's largest oil palm plantation.

South Korea's Daewoo conglomerate planned to buy 2.9 million acres of Madagascar until the deal collapsed in 2009 when rioters toppled the Indian Ocean island's government.

"Foreign direct investment in agriculture is the boardroom euphemism for the new land grab and those promoting the grab spin it as a win-win situation," Le Monde Diplomatique reported recently.

As African leaders sign away their people's land to foreigners, the continent's people, among the poorest on the planet, face joining the estimated 1 billion people in the world who don't have enough food.

In the end, critics say the continent faces widespread conflict over resources in the not-too-distant future.

"Unchecked land-grabbing carries with it the seeds of conflict, environmental disaster, political and social change, and hunger on an unprecedented scale," Le Monde Diplomatique warned.

"There's a new scramble for land in Africa and it's growing at an incredible rate," says Alex Wijeratna of the U.K. development agency Action Aid.

"There's massive secrecy and poor communities can't get information and they're not being consulted."

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries




.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



AFRICA NEWS
Sudan rebels say key govt outpost taken
Khartoum (AFP) Jan 17, 2012
Rebels in Sudan's South Kordofan have captured a key government outpost near the state capital, a rebel spokesman said, but the country's armed forces denied even being in the area. The battle took place on Sunday at El-Ahmier, 30 kilometres (19 miles) southeast of Kadugli, said Arnu Ngutulu Lodi of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). "It was the last outpost of SAF so ... read more


AFRICA NEWS
From field to biorefinery: Computer model optimizes biofuel operations

Breeding better grasses for food and fuel

US Woody Biomass Prices Have Dropped the Past Three Years

U.S. backs plan to produce algae crude oil

AFRICA NEWS
A new Artificial Intelligence technique to speed the planning of tasks when resources are limited

Open-source robotic surgery platform going to top medical research labs

Leaping lizards and dinosaurs inspire robot design

Greying Singapore taps robots, games in rehab

AFRICA NEWS
Power generation is blowing in the wind

Spain's Gamesa wins Chinese wind turbine contract

Mortenson Starts Construction of Rim Rock Wind Project

SA Opposition wind policy threatens $3 billion investment

AFRICA NEWS
GM reclaims world's biggest carmaker title as Toyota skids

Spanish fold-up car to be unveiled at EU

One-third of car fuel consumption is due to friction loss

China auto sales growth hits the brakes in 2011

AFRICA NEWS
Israelis, Arabs tied to Sudan oil conflict

Bulgarian parliament bans shale gas exploration

2 Million Jobs On Offer If Americans Thinks Big on Energy Efficiency

Global Smart Grid Market to Invest $2 Trillion by 2030, peaking at $155bn in 2018

AFRICA NEWS
New form of graphene could prevent electronics from overheating and revolutionize thermal management

VW nears number one ranking with 8 mn sales

Graphene grows better on certain copper crystals

New method of growing high-quality graphene promising for next-gen technology

AFRICA NEWS
Maryland Smart Growth Weakness Frustrates Stakeholders

Japan's quake-hit TEPCO to put up business bills

Tough economy curbs clean energy investment: experts

China urges global energy cooperation

AFRICA NEWS
Amazon Basin shifting to carbon emitter: study

Team finds natural reasons behind nitrogen-rich forests

Indonesia pledges to conserve half of Borneo region

New study evaluates impact of land use activity in the Amazon basin


.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement