The New African Land Grab

[marmar]

via CommonDreams:



Published on Thursday, June 30, 2011 by Al Jazeera English

The New African Land Grab
Foreign investors, with the World Bank, are acquiring vast tracks of land in Africa - at the expense of local farmers.

by Joan Baxter


The "town" chief of the village seemed to be in a state of shock.

Sitting on the front porch of his mud and thatch home in Pujehun District in southern Sierra Leone, he struggled to find words that could explain how he had signed away the land that sustained his family and his community.

He said he was coerced by his Paramount Chief, told that whether he agreed, or not, his land would still be taken and his small oil palm stand destroyed. He didn't know the name of the foreign investor nor did he know that it planned to lease up to 35,000 hectares of farmland in the area to establish massive oil palm and rubber plantations.

......(snip)......

This is a ground-level view of a large land deal in Africa, where in recent years foreign investors have acquired tens of millions of hectares of farmland. In 2009 alone, the World Bank estimates that around the world foreign investors acquired about 56 million hectares of farmland - an area about the size of France - by long-term lease or by purchase. Farmland has become a favorite "new asset" class for private investors; "like gold, only better" according to Capital & Crisis. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/06/30-6

[xchrom]

1. there's some irony here -- bangladesh is one of the countries

investing in tracts of farm land.

south asia is very concerned w/ risising food prices & food shortages.

[Starry Messenger]

2. A "new asset"?

More like back to basics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primitive_accumulation_of_capital
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch31.htm

The discovery of gold and silver in America, the extirpation, enslavement and entombment in mines of the aboriginal population, the beginning of the conquest and looting of the East Indies, the turning of Africa into a warren for the commercial hunting of black-skins, signalised the rosy dawn of the era of capitalist production. These idyllic proceedings are the chief momenta of primitive accumulation.

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, marmar.