[size=18pt]Hedge funds 'grabbing land' in Africa[/size]

Hedge funds are behind "land grabs" in Africa to boost their profits in the food and biofuel sectors, a US think-tank says.

In a report, the Oakland Institute said hedge funds and other foreign firms had acquired large swathes of African land, often without proper contracts.

It said the acquisitions had displaced millions of small farmers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13688683

Their African accomplices are as guilty as them

Africa being colonized all over again.

I wonder how long it will be before a wave of famines hit the continent?

We just dont learn - and these corrupt leaders of ours will never understand the evil they have done.

Sun of god:

Africa being colonized all over again.

I wonder how long it will be before a wave of famines hit the continent?

We just dont learn - and these corrupt leaders of ours will never understand the evil they have done.

Tell me about it! Its an internal and external attack at the same time

2muchlogic:

Tell me about it! Its an internal and external attack at the same time

It is a perpetual struggle. Nothing has changed since the slave trade era.

2muchlogic:

[size=18pt]Hedge funds 'grabbing land' in Africa[/size]

Hedge funds are behind "land grabs" in Africa to boost their profits in the food and biofuel sectors, a US think-tank says.

In a report, the Oakland Institute said hedge funds and other foreign firms had acquired large swathes of African land, often without proper contracts.

It said the acquisitions had displaced millions of small farmers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13688683

The issue here is not FDI capital inflow in the acquisition of land and leases but the terms of contract and negotiation.

What does Africa get out of the deal? If it involves a transfer of technology and modernization of the agricultural sector then I am all for it.

It is incumbent on the African leaders to device a strategy to leverage the inflow of this expertise, knowledge and capital.

A case in point is China who upon allowing several manufacturing bases settle in their country per cheap sources of labor, have been able to duplicate the technology these transfers bring with them and in the long term are net beneficiaries of this exchange.

morpheus24:

The issue here is not FDI capital inflow in the acquisition of land and leases  but the terms of contract and negotiation.

What does Africa get out of the deal? If it involves a transfer of technology and modernization of the agricultural sector then I am all for it.

It is incumbent on the African leaders to device a strategy to leverage the inflow of this expertise, knowledge and capital.

A case in point is China who upon allowing several manufacturing bases settle in their country per cheap sources of labor, have been able to duplicate the technology these transfers bring with them and in the long term are net beneficiaries of this exchange.

Very good point, I remember reading an article in the VOA site, heres a quote from it:--

[size=18pt]"[/size]Part of the reason why Lekki Free Zone is so attractive to the Chinese is that, the Chinese government is encouraging those companies which are shutting down in China to move out,” he added. “There are funds which the government has provided for these companies to encourage them to move out to come and set up their factories in other parts of the world. We have that market. Now the Nigeria government is also encouraging investors to go to China and probably buy those factories, which are shut down, maybe at a quarter of the price and bring them into Lekki, set it up and manufacture those goods which you know you have 100 percent market right here.[size=18pt]"[/size]

The President of Addis Ababa is selling acres of land to hedge funds investors for 63p an acre on a 100 year lease, they are putting for sale 7and a half million acres of land, over 4M acres has bn sold to foreign investors in the last couple of months, the land for sale includes arable land, pasture, forests and wetland forcing local communities of their lands and depriving them of access to water, the shady deals are not regulated, forcing thousands from their lands, citizens that have challenged the governement for selling the lands for peanuts have bn imprisoned by the repressive regime. therr is zero chance of the hedge funds paying any tax once the investments start making millions of dollars. African leaders are really dump, they are given a few thousands of dollars and are ready to sell of their country for two for a pound.

morpheus24:

The issue here is not FDI capital inflow in the acquisition of land and leases but the terms of contract and negotiation.

What does Africa get out of the deal? If it involves a transfer of technology and modernization of the agricultural sector then I am all for it.

It is incumbent on the African leaders to device a strategy to leverage the inflow of this expertise, knowledge and capital.

A case in point is China who upon allowing several manufacturing bases settle in their country per cheap sources of labor, have been able to duplicate the technology these transfers bring with them and in the long term are net beneficiaries of this exchange.

I share your views but unfortunately that is not what is happening. What we have here is a case of our leaders selling us all over again for a mess of porridge. There have already been horror stories form Sierra Leone to Tanzania of villagers losing their lands without adequate (sometimes, without any) compensation. The Africans are employed to till the land and whatever comes off it is exported. Maybe there will be technology transfer but nothing so far gives me reason to be sanguine.

I cant but weep inward for my continent Africa, it seems as if the future is really bleak in fact the future is bleak. Who do we count on to help us, not the foreign goverment,not our own government. So who? Maybe ourselves yet lots of us are just like our government the only difference is we're not the one in power perhaps we'll have done worse. Africa i weep weep weep weep

Ethiopia is one of the hungriest countries in the world with 2.8 million people needing food aid, but paradoxically the government is offering at least 3 Millions hectares of its most fertile land to rich countries and some of the world's most wealthy individuals to export food for their own populations. But Ethiopia is only one of 20 or more African countries where land is being bought or leased for intensive agriculture on an immense scale in what may be the greatest change of ownership since the colonial era.