The new African land grab

[Hannah Bell]

A NEW scramble for profit is sweeping Africa--foreign investment in agricultural land on a massive scale. Referred to as a "land grab," the privatization of millions of acres of land is helping to fuel a crisis of hunger and displacement across the continent.

Nations have begun buying up large tracts of land to grow food for import back to their home countries. Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, India, Korea, Libya and Egypt have all jumped on the land grab bandwagon, but agribusinesses and private equity firms from Europe and the U.S. are also joining in.


As many critics have pointed out, African governments have falsely claimed that land available for sale is unused...Communal land, small farmers and even entire villages are often displaced in the drive for land purchases.

"Experts in the field, however, affirm that there is no such thing as idle land in...Africa...Countless studies have shown that competition for grazing land and access to water bodies are the two most important sources of inter-communal conflict in populated by pastoralists."

http://socialistworker.org/2010/09/07/new-african-land-grab

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Oh wow. I guess I'm not surprised given the state of the world today. :^(

[blindpig]

2. Same as it ever was

This shit has been going on since the Enclosure Acts.

Capitalism sucks the life out of people, the land, everything.

[leftstreet]

3. K&R

[me b zola]

4. K&R

[JCMach1]

5. Just got back from Nairobi, China is all over Kenya like a chicken on a june bug

It's about securing natural resources... same as it ever was.

[KamaAina]

8. I thought it was a duck on a June bug

must be a Florida thing. :-)

[JCMach1]

9. prolly... just how I always heard... but we are ignorant crackers

so ain't no tellin'

:)

[Swamp Rat]

6. k&r

[formercia]

7. Sounds like Manifest Destiny is catching on........

Natives lose again.