From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Mon Mar 29 2010 - 14:10:01 EST
African farmland leases threaten to drive conflict, but rules could help
29 Mar 2010 17:19:00 GMT
Written by: Laurie Goering
MONTPELLIER, France (AlertNet) - Large-scale leases of African farmland by
foreign investors risk driving conflict and fueling corruption in the
region, farm experts said Monday at a conference on agricultural research
and development.
But if regulations for responsible foreign land investment can be drafted
and followed, such leases could provide a much-needed cash infusion for
African agriculture which has struggled to find investment elsewhere, they
said.
"What's missing is it has not been done responsibly enough," said Kanayo
Nwanze, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD). "Food security is a global issue and global partnership can
contribute."
Spooked by the 2008 food crisis, which sent commodity prices soaring on
world markets and by the prospect of climate change reducing farm production
at home, countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have poured millions
of dollars into long-term leases of agricultural land across Africa.
Investors looking for higher returns also have jumped into the market while
countries such as China have locked up African land not just for food but
for biofuel production.
Altogether close to 20 countries have leased tens of millions of acres of
land in Sudan, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and other
African countries, agricultural experts say.
The deals have provoked widespread international criticism, not least
because opponents fear the proceeds may end up in the hands of politicians
rather than small farmers who could be pushed off their land.
*'SECRET DEALS'*
"The real issue in Africa is a lot of these deals are done in secret. The
small-holder farmers who stand to lose their land are not consulted. No one
is sure the amount of money declared is the real amount," said Namanga
Ngongi, president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, a
project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
"Increased foreign investment is what everyone has been crying for for years
(in Africa)," he said. But on a continent already struggling with widespread
hunger, investment that doesn't build food security at home doesn't make
sense, he said.
Regulating the new investments, however, could help ensure Africans --
particularly African farmers -- get some benefit, Nwanze said.
His agency and others are working to create a new international framework on
responsible investment in land, which would set out guidelines on how locals
would benefit from such deals. For example, investors might be required to
hire local farmers already on the land to produce crops on contract for
them, rather than bringing in their own workers.
Land investors could not be obligated to sign on to such guidelines, Nwanze
said. But many, faced with intense international criticism, might sign up as
a way to defuse tensions and improve their image, particularly in the
countries where they are leasing land.
The reality, Nwanze said, is that the investment is going to happen, and
"I'm looking for a win-win situation."
*POTENTIAL PROBLEMS*
Agricultural experts at this week's Global Conference on Agricultural
Research for Development say foreign investment in agricultural land is
nothing new in Africa. Companies like Unilever for decades ran palm oil and
cocoa plantations in West Africa, providing workers with health clinics and
schools as well as salaries, Nwanze said.
The urgency of finding resources to boost agricultural production on the
continent, particularly in the face of fast-rising population and climate
change, also cannot be overstated, he and others said.
But even with new guidelines on land leases in Africa, the deals could lead
to growing problems down the road, warned Emmy Simmons, a longtime USAID
official and board member of the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in
Africa.
Ethiopia, for instance, has advertised that it has 7 million hectares of
unoccupied land available for rent, and much of that land is being quickly
snapped up by foreign investors.
But Ethiopia's rules governing internal migration prevent Ethiopian
investors from renting farmland in parts of the country other than their own
traditional areas. Such rules are certain to prompt growing resentment as
foreigners move in, Simmons said.
"No one can argue African agriculture doesn't need more investment," Ngongi
said. Investment that results in a transfer of skills to African farmers,
that increases the continent's own food security and creates jobs "would be
difficult to quarrel with," he said. "But so far, that has not been true."
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