Despite Aguan "Land Agreement", Continued Repression in Honduran African Palm Oil Plantations

[Judi Lynn]

Despite Aguan "Land Agreement", Continued Repression in Honduran African Palm Oil Plantations

Upside Down World
August 05, 2010
Tamar Sharabi

Events occurring on the northern coast of Honduras around the agrarian conflict in the Valle de Aguan remain largely unreported, even as the human rights situation continues to deteriorate. The mainstream media in the country, highly responsible for ignoring or distorting the widespread resistance to the June 2009 coup d' etat, recognizes that any additional signs of 'instability' might further deter foreign investment.
The Aguan Valley was once known as the country's capital of 'Agrarian Reform.' The fertile land is covered mostly by palm oil plantations, the country's third largest export crop.1 It is located in the department of Colon, an export area due to its proximity to the Atlantic ocean and a crucial passageway for the drug trafficking industry moving its product north.

The capital city of Trujillo is also the future site of "Banana Coast," a $15 million Canadian investment with LifeVision Properties and Miami-based Global Destinations Development, slated to create the first cruise ship destination on the mainland of Honduras.2

The International Food Information Action Network (FIAN), which forms part of the country's Human Rights Platform, reported in May 2010 at least 10 deaths this year directly associated with the agrarian conflict in the Aguan Valley.

Rich Land, Poor Distribution, Strong Biodiesel Interests

It is estimated that one third of the best agricultural lands in Honduras are owned by one percent of the country's producers.3 Meanwhile, Oxfam International reports that 67 of every 100 persons in Honduras live in extreme poverty, without the ability to generate sufficient income even for the basic food staples.4 The Dinant corporation, "dedicated to the packaging and commercialization of oil, vegetables and fruits," owns 17,000 hectares (approximately the size of Washington D.C.) in the Aguan and Lean Valley.5 A large portion of this land is contested by the Unified Movement of Aguan Farmers (MUCA), which claims the land was illegally acquired. MUCA represents over 3,500 families in the area.

In a USDA GAIN report, Dinant is listed as a leader in African palm production with the installed capacity to produce 36,000 gallons/day of biodiesel. "Honduras is the only Central American country that has approved laws and regulations for both bio diesel and ethanol production. The law provides exemptions from customs tariffs, income tax, and other related taxes for 12 years.6 (Dinant is also represented on the national chapter of CEAL, the Business Council of Latin America, who paid at least $210,000 to lobbying firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP to lobby "on the US Policy of the removal of Mr. Zelaya from Honduras.")7

The land dispute was progressing through the Zelaya administration until his term was cut short with the coup. When it was clear President Zelaya would not be reinstated, farmers seized lands once cooperatively owned in an effort to pressure the new regime.

More:
http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/americas/honduras/6945.html