{"id":438364,"date":"2011-06-08T18:57:00","date_gmt":"2011-06-08T18:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/06\/08\/hedge-funds-grab-africas-land\/"},"modified":"2011-06-08T18:57:00","modified_gmt":"2011-06-08T18:57:00","slug":"hedge-funds-grab-africas-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/08\/hedge-funds-grab-africas-land\/","title":{"rendered":"Hedge funds ‘grab’ Africa’s land"},"content":{"rendered":"

8 June 2011<\/span> Last updated at<\/span> 14:57 ET<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hedge funds are behind “land grabs” in Africa to boost their profits in the food and biofuel sectors, a US think-tank says.<\/p>\n

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

It said the acquisitions had displaced millions of small farmers.<\/p>\n

Foreign firms farm the land to consolidate their hold over global food markets, the report said.<\/p>\n

They also use land to “make room” for export commodities such as biofuels and cut flowers.<\/p>\n

“This is creating insecurity in the global food system that could be a much bigger threat than terrorism,” the report said.<\/p>\n

The Oakland Institute said it released its findings<\/a> after studying land deals in Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Mali and Mozambique.<\/p>\n

‘Risky manoeuvre<\/strong>‘<\/p>\n

It said hedge funds and other speculators had, in 2009 alone, bought or leased nearly 60m hectares of land in Africa – an area the size of France.<\/p>\n

Continue reading the main story<\/a><\/p>\n

In the field<\/h2>\n

Umaru Fofana<\/span> BBC African Service, Sierra Leone<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

When I visited Lungi-Lol in rural Sierra Leone I saw men hoeing thousands of hectares of farmland owned by Addax, a Swiss-based bio-energy company.<\/p>\n

They are growing sugarcane to produce biofuels.<\/p>\n

Campaigners say this contributes to food insecurity, but many people here welcome Addax’s presence.<\/p>\n

Francis Koroma, who works on the farm, says: “We thank God for Addax. I am gainfully employed and I receive about $70 (\u00a346) a month. Before, I spent a whole year without getting $50.”<\/p>\n

Villagers are unaware of the controversy surrounding biofuels.<\/p>\n

Abdulai Conteh, a local traditional leader, said: “Some people are doing business here but I have no idea what they are doing with our land. I see them growing sugarcane. That’s all I know.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“The same financial firms that drove us into a global recession by inflating the real estate bubble through risky financial manoeuvres are now doing the same with the world’s food supply,” the report said.<\/p>\n

It added that some firms obtained land after deals with gullible traditional leaders or corrupt government officials.<\/p>\n

“The research exposed investors who said it is easy to make a deal – that they could usually get what they wanted in exchange for giving a poor tribal chief a bottle of Johnnie Walker [whisky],” said Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute.<\/p>\n

“When these investors promise progress and jobs to local chiefs it sounds great, but they don’t deliver.”<\/p>\n

The report said the contracts also gave investors a range of incentives, from unlimited water rights to tax waivers.<\/p>\n

“No-one should believe that these investors are there to feed starving Africans.<\/p>\n

“These deals only lead to dollars in the pockets of corrupt leaders and foreign investors,” said Obang Metho of Solidarity Movement for New Ethiopia, a non-governmental organisation in Addis Ababa.<\/p>\n

However, not all companies named in the report accept that their motives are as suggested and they dismiss claims that their presence in Africa is harmful.<\/p>\n

One company, EmVest Asset Management, strongly denied that it was involved in exploitative or illegal practices.<\/p>\n

“There are no shady deals. We acquire all land in terms of legal tender,” EmVest’s Africa director Anthony Poorter told the BBC.<\/p>\n

He said that in Mozambique the company’s employees earned salaries 40% higher than the minimum wage.<\/p>\n

The company was also involved in development projects such as the supply of clean water to rural communities.<\/p>\n

“They are extremely happy with us,” Mr Poorter said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

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