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How food and water are driving a 21st-century African land grab

Published

6 years ago

December 1, 2020

A woman tends vegetables at a giant Saudi-financed farm in Ethiopia.

An Observer investigation reveals how rich countries faced by a global food shortage now farm an area double the size of the UK to guarantee supplies for their citizens.

We turned off the main road to Awassa, talked our way past security guards and drove a mile across empty land before we found what will soon be Ethiopia’s largest greenhouse. Nestling below an escarpment of the Rift Valley, the development is far from finished, but the plastic and steel structure already stretches over 20 hectares – the size of 20 football pitches.

The farm manager shows us millions of tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables being grown in 500m rows in computer controlled conditions. Spanish engineers are building the steel structure, Dutch technology minimises water use from two bore-holes and 1,000 women pick and pack 50 tonnes of food a day. Within 24 hours, it has been driven 200 miles to Addis Ababa and flown 1,000 miles to the shops and restaurants of Dubai, Jeddah and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Ethiopia is one of the hungriest countries in the world with 2.8 million people needing food aid, but paradoxically the government is offering at least 3m hectares of its most fertile land to rich countries and some of the world’s most wealthy individuals to export food for their own populations.

The 1,000 hectares of land which contain the Awassa greenhouses are leased for 99 years to a Saudi billionaire businessman, Ethiopian-born Sheikh Mohammed al-Amoudi, one of the 50 richest men in the world. His Saudi Star company plans to spend up to $2bn acquiring and developing 500,000 hectares of land in Ethiopia in the next few years. So far, it has bought four farms and is already growing wheat, rice, vegetables and flowers for the Saudi market. It expects eventually to employ more than 10,000 people.

But Ethiopia is only one of 20 or more African countries where land is being bought or leased for intensive agriculture on an immense scale in what may be the greatest change of ownership since the colonial era.

An Observer investigation estimates that up to 50m hectares of land – an area more than double the size of the UK – has been acquired in the last few years or is in the process of being negotiated by governments and wealthy investors working with state subsidies. The data used was collected by Grain, the International Institute for Environment and Development, the International Land Coalition, ActionAid and other non-governmental groups.

The land rush, which is still accelerating, has been triggered by the worldwide food shortages which followed the sharp oil price rises in 2008, growing water shortages and the European Union’s insistence that 10% of all transport fuel must come from plant-based biofuels by 2015.

In many areas the deals have led to evictions, civil unrest and complaints of “land grabbing”.

The experience of Nyikaw Ochalla, an indigenous Anuak from the Gambella region of Ethiopia now living in Britain but who is in regular contact with farmers in his region, is typical. He said: “All of the land in the Gambella region is utilised. Each community has and looks after its own territory and the rivers and farmlands within it. It is a myth propagated by the government and investors to say that there is waste land or land that is not utilised in Gambella.

“The foreign companies are arriving in large numbers, depriving people of land they have used for centuries. There is no consultation with the indigenous population. The deals are done secretly. The only thing the local people see is people coming with lots of tractors to invade their lands.

“All the land round my family village of Illia has been taken over and is being cleared. People now have to work for an Indian company. Their land has been compulsorily taken and they have been given no compensation. People cannot believe what is happening. Thousands of people will be affected and people will go hungry.”

It is not known if the acquisitions will improve or worsen food security in Africa, or if they will stimulate separatist conflicts, but a major World Bank report due to be published this month is expected to warn of both the potential benefits and the immense dangers they represent to people and nature.

Leading the rush are international agribusinesses, investment banks, hedge funds, commodity traders, sovereign wealth funds as well as UK pension funds, foundations and individuals attracted by some of the world’s cheapest land.

Together they are scouring Sudan, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Congo, Zambia, Uganda, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Mali, Sierra Leone, Ghana and elsewhere. Ethiopia alone has approved 815 foreign-financed agricultural projects since 2007. Any land there, which investors have not been able to buy, is being leased for approximately $1 per year per hectare.

Saudi Arabia, along with other Middle Eastern emirate states such as Qatar, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, is thought to be the biggest buyer. In 2008 the Saudi government, which was one of the Middle East’s largest wheat-growers, announced it was to reduce its domestic cereal production by 12% a year to conserve its water. It earmarked $5bn to provide loans at preferential rates to Saudi companies which wanted to invest in countries with strong agricultural potential .

Meanwhile, the Saudi investment company Foras, backed by the Islamic Development Bank and wealthy Saudi investors, plans to spend $1bn buying land and growing 7m tonnes of rice for the Saudi market within seven years. The company says it is investigating buying land in Mali, Senegal, Sudan and Uganda. By turning to Africa to grow its staple crops, Saudi Arabia is not just acquiring Africa’s land but is securing itself the equivalent of hundreds of millions of gallons of scarce water a year. Water, says the UN, will be the defining resource of the next 100 years.

Since 2008 Saudi investors have bought heavily in Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia and Kenya. Last year the first sacks of wheat grown in Ethiopia for the Saudi market were presented by al-Amoudi to King Abdullah.

Some of the African deals lined up are eye-wateringly large: China has signed a contract with the Democratic Republic of Congo to grow 2.8m hectares of palm oil for biofuels. Before it fell apart after riots, a proposed 1.2m hectares deal between Madagascar and the South Korean company Daewoo would have included nearly half of the country’s arable land.

Land to grow biofuel crops is also in demand. “European biofuel companies have acquired or requested about 3.9m hectares in Africa. This has led to displacement of people, lack of consultation and compensation, broken promises about wages and job opportunities,” said Tim Rice, author of an ActionAid report which estimates that the EU needs to grow crops on 17.5m hectares, well over half the size of Italy, if it is to meet its 10% biofuel target by 2015.

“The biofuel land grab in Africa is already displacing farmers and food production. The number of people going hungry will increase,” he said. British firms have secured tracts of land in Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria and Tanzania to grow flowers and vegetables.

Indian companies, backed by government loans, have bought or leased hundreds of thousands of hectares in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal and Mozambique, where they are growing rice, sugar cane, maize and lentils to feed their domestic market.

Nowhere is now out of bounds. Sudan, emerging from civil war and mostly bereft of development for a generation, is one of the new hot spots. South Korean companies last year bought 700,000 hectares of northern Sudan for wheat cultivation; the United Arab Emirates have acquired 750,000 hectares and Saudi Arabia last month concluded a 42,000-hectare deal in Nile province.

The government of southern Sudan says many companies are now trying to acquire land. “We have had many requests from many developers. Negotiations are going on,” said Peter Chooli, director of water resources and irrigation, in Juba last week. “A Danish group is in discussions with the state and another wants to use land near the Nile.”

In one of the most extraordinary deals, buccaneering New York investment firm Jarch Capital, run by a former commodities trader, Philip Heilberg, has leased 800,000 hectares in southern Sudan near Darfur. Heilberg has promised not only to create jobs but also to put 10% or more of his profits back into the local community. But he has been accused by Sudanese of “grabbing” communal land and leading an American attempt to fragment Sudan and exploit its resources.

Devlin Kuyek, a Montreal-based researcher with Grain, said investing in Africa was now seen as a new food supply strategy by many governments. “Rich countries are eyeing Africa not just for a healthy return on capital, but also as an insurance policy. Food shortages and riots in 28 countries in 2008, declining water supplies, climate change and huge population growth have together made land attractive. Africa has the most land and, compared with other continents, is cheap,” he said.

“Farmland in sub-Saharan Africa is giving 25% returns a year and new technology can treble crop yields in short time frames,” said Susan Payne, chief executive of Emergent Asset Management, a UK investment fund seeking to spend $50m on African land, which, she said, was attracting governments, corporations, multinationals and other investors. “Agricultural development is not only sustainable, it is our future. If we do not pay great care and attention now to increase food production by over 50% before 2050, we will face serious food shortages globally,” she said.

But many of the deals are widely condemned by both western non-government groups and nationals as “new colonialism”, driving people off the land and taking scarce resources away from people.

We met Tegenu Morku, a land agent, in a roadside cafe on his way to the region of Oromia in Ethiopia to find 500 hectares of land for a group of Egyptian investors. They planned to fatten cattle, grow cereals and spices and export as much as possible to Egypt. There had to be water available and he expected the price to be about 15 birr (75p) per hectare per year – less than a quarter of the cost of land in Egypt and a tenth of the price of land in Asia.

“The land and labour is cheap and the climate is good here. Everyone – Saudis, Turks, Chinese, Egyptians – is looking. The farmers do not like it because they get displaced, but they can find land elsewhere and, besides, they get compensation, equivalent to about 10 years’ crop yield,” he said.

Oromia is one of the centres of the African land rush. Haile Hirpa, president of the Oromia studies’ association, said last week in a letter of protest to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon that India had acquired 1m hectares, Djibouti 10,000 hectares, Saudi Arabia 100,000 hectares, and that Egyptian, South Korean, Chinese, Nigerian and other Arab investors were all active in the state.

“This is the new, 21st-century colonisation. The Saudis are enjoying the rice harvest, while the Oromos are dying from man-made famine as we speak,” he said.

The Ethiopian government denied the deals were causing hunger and said that the land deals were attracting hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign investments and tens of thousands of jobs. A spokesman said: “Ethiopia has 74m hectares of fertile land, of which only 15% is currently in use – mainly by subsistence farmers. Of the remaining land, only a small percentage – 3 to 4% – is offered to foreign investors. Investors are never given land that belongs to Ethiopian farmers. The government also encourages Ethiopians in the diaspora to invest in their homeland. They bring badly needed technology, they offer jobs and training to Ethiopians, they operate in areas where there is suitable land and access to water.”

The reality on the ground is different, according to Michael Taylor, a policy specialist at the International Land Coalition. “If land in Africa hasn’t been planted, it’s probably for a reason. Maybe it’s used to graze livestock or deliberately left fallow to prevent nutrient depletion and erosion. Anybody who has seen these areas identified as unused understands that there is no land in Ethiopia that has no owners and users.”

Development experts are divided on the benefits of large-scale, intensive farming. Indian ecologist Vandana Shiva said in London last week that large-scale industrial agriculture not only threw people off the land but also required chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers, intensive water use, and large-scale transport, storage and distribution which together turned landscapes into enormous mono-cultural plantations.

“We are seeing dispossession on a massive scale. It means less food is available and local people will have less. There will be more conflict and political instability and cultures will be uprooted. The small farmers of Africa are the basis of food security. The food availability of the planet will decline,” she says. But Rodney Cooke, director at the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development, sees potential benefits. “I would avoid the blanket term ‘land-grabbing’. Done the right way, these deals can bring benefits for all parties and be a tool for development.”

Lorenzo Cotula, senior researcher with the International Institute for Environment and Development, who co-authored a report on African land exchanges with the UN fund last year, found that well-structured deals could guarantee employment, better infrastructures and better crop yields. But badly handled they could cause great harm, especially if local people were excluded from decisions about allocating land and if their land rights were not protected.

Water is also controversial. Local government officers in Ethiopia told the Observer that foreign companies that set up flower farms and other large intensive farms were not being charged for water. “We would like to, but the deal is made by central government,” said one. In Awassa, the al-Amouni farm uses as much water a year as 100,000 Ethiopians.

• This article was amended on 22 March 2011. Owing to an editing error the original said that more than 13 million people in Ethiopia need food aid. This has been corrected.

Original Post: The Guardian

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World Food Day 2026: Building healthy diets means reimagining how we grow, share, and enjoy our food.

Published

15 hours ago

October 16, 2026

witnessradio.org

By the Witness Radio team.

In 2024, hunger affected an estimated 673 million people worldwide, the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report reveals, underscoring the urgent need to ensure everyone can access enough nutritious food.

Africa bears a heavy share of this crisis. Hunger affects about 307 million people, more than one in five on the continent. If nothing changes, experts warn that by 2030, as many as 512 million people could face chronic undernourishment, with nearly 60 percent living in Africa.

These numbers make it clear: we must transform our food systems now. It is not just about growing more food; it’s about ensuring everyone can enjoy diets that are diverse, safe, nourishing, and rooted in culture.

On World Food Day 2026, celebrated under the banner “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow,” leaders urged the world to invest boldly in healthy eating, indigenous food traditions and agricultural breakthroughs that truly serve people’s needs.

Italy’s Minister for Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida, called for greater attention to healthy, balanced and sustainable diets, linking food consumption to human health, cultural heritage and environmental protection.

“To nourish tomorrow, it isn’t enough to invest in innovation and research and in waste reduction. We must also promote dietary habits that are healthy, balanced and sustainable, capitalizing on the deep link between food, health, culture and territory,” Lollobrigida said.

He highlighted Italy’s food culture as a living example of how what we eat can weave together nutrition, environmental care, and the fabric of social life.

“Food isn’t just nutrition; it’s a way of spending time together defending and protecting our environment and our health,” he said.

The minister also urged everyone to unite to tackle food waste, a challenge that stretches from farm fields to family tables. He stressed that governments, businesses, researchers and consumers must join forces through smart policies, new technologies and better food education to end waste.

While Italy’s minister focused on eating habits, King Letsie III of Lesotho, David Mohato Bereng Seeiso, called on African nations to embrace their indigenous foods, crops and traditional wisdom to boost nutrition.

The King noted Africa’s rich tapestry of traditional foods, livestock and aquatic resources, many perfectly suited to local environments and packed with nutrition. Yet he observed researchers, markets and public campaigns too often overlook these treasures.

“Countries must be assisted to promote indigenous traditional and underutilized foods as part of healthier diets, biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation and local economic development,” he said.

He added that building value chains around locally adapted foods could open doors for smallholder farmers, women and young entrepreneurs, all while helping communities safeguard their food heritage.

“While restoring pride in Africa’s food heritage, innovation does not mean abandoning tradition; it means combining the best of modern science with the knowledge and experience of our communities. Nourishing tomorrow should also begin with investing in children today,” King Letsie III added.

His words highlight the need to help farmers preserve locally adapted crops and seeds while harnessing science to boost harvests and nutrition.

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said scientific innovation should be judged by its contribution to people’s lives rather than by technological advances alone.

“Innovation is not only about the technology, but it’s also about people. It is about enabling people to turn knowledge into opportunity, science into solutions and hope into action,” he said.

He cited satellite monitoring, early-warning systems, improved irrigation, and digital technologies as tools that can help farmers protect harvests, manage resources, and access markets and financial services.

Today, science provides farmers with tools previous generations could hardly have imagined. Satellites monitor crops from space, helping detect threats before harvests are lost. Early warning systems give farming families time to prepare for droughts, floods and other risks. Smarter irrigation lets farmers produce more food while using less water. Digital technologies connect rural communities to markets, financial services, and networks once out of reach, especially for smallholder farmers. These innovations can strengthen food security, stabilize incomes and create better opportunities for future generations.

Yet innovation alone is not enough. Its true value lies in reaching those who need it most and ensuring successful solutions can be shared and scaled up. The most effective innovations are those developed with farmers and rural communities, considering their needs, knowledge and local conditions, he said.

King Letsie III said transforming food systems requires political leadership, stronger institutions, and adequate nutrition financing.

“Our parOur parliamentarians approve budgets, enact laws, oversee government action and represent citizens’ priorities. I therefore welcome FAO’s engagement with the Pan-African Parliament and national and sub-regional parliamentary alliances on food security and nutrition. Through parliamentary capacity development, FAO is helping legislators create stronger enabling environments. Parliamentarians can and should champion adequate financing for nutrition, protect school meal budgets, promote healthy food environments, improve food safety laws, support women and youth and hold institutions accountable for the commitments made to our people.” He said.

He highlighted school feeding programs as one way to improve children’s diets while creating markets for locally produced food.

Nutritious school meals are a strategic investment that can improve diets, attendance, and learning; strengthen social protection; and create steady demand for locally produced food. Homegrown school meals connect agriculture, nutrition, education and local economic development. School meals should do more than relieve short-term hunger. They should support physical and cognitive development, encourage lifelong healthy habits, strengthen local economies and provide practical learning on nutrition, food safety, hygiene, biodiversity and respect for food. Safe water, sanitation and hygiene are also essential to ensure every meal advances health, dignity and learning, he added.

These leaders’ voices send a clear message: we must bridge the gap between what is grown in fields and what nourishes people’s bodies and lives.

Africa needs stronger links among farmers, researchers, universities, policymakers, entrepreneurs and investors. Solutions that show promise must move beyond pilots and laboratories, be adapted to local realities and scaled through effective institutions and sustainable financing,” the King said.

He emphasized that young people must be at the heart of this movement, with skills, funding, land, digital tools, mentors, and access to markets.

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International Day of Rural Women : Rural women farmers deserve not only equal rights and access to resources, but also the strength and voice to safeguard Mother Nature.

Published

15 hours ago

October 16, 2026

witnessradio.org

By the Witness Radio Team.

As the world marks the International Day of Rural Women on 15 October 2026, with the theme “Rural Women Farmers Caring for Mother Nature,” the spotlight shines on women whose tireless efforts nourish food systems, shield biodiversity, and safeguard the natural resources that sustain entire communities.

This year’s celebration carries special weight as the United Nations declares 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer, spotlighting women’s vital roles across agri-food systems, from planting seeds to driving trade. This recognition opens the door to challenge the persistent inequalities that threaten women’s livelihoods and silence their voices in decisions about agriculture, land, and the environment.

In its statement marking the day, UN Women called for rural women’s rights, resources and decision-making power to match their contributions to food systems and environmental protection.

“On this day, we celebrate their knowledge and leadership in building a more resilient future. Yet their rights, resources and decision-making power too often fall short of their contributions,” UN Women said.

The agency called on governments and other groups to ensure women have enforceable rights to land, water, and natural resources. It also asked for better access to finance, markets, technology, and agricultural services, as well as decent work, social protection, and strong infrastructure. The agency highlighted the need to recognize, reduce, and share women’s unpaid care work.

These calls to action highlight the stark inequalities rural women endure. They are the backbone of community nourishment and environmental stewardship, yet too often they lack the resources and influence needed to improve their lives and shape the future.

Ambassador Ada Francisca de Asis Hernández Rivera, the Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Program (WFP), underscored rural women’s importance in eradicating poverty, ending hunger and transforming agri-food systems into more inclusive, resilient and sustainable systems.

She noted that women contribute to food production, biodiversity conservation, sustainable ecosystem management and the resilience of families and communities. Yet many still face barriers to accessing land, financial services, technology, information, markets, and technical assistance, as well as opportunities to participate in decision-making.

“These inequalities, of course, will reduce their opportunities and limit the potential of family farming to contribute completely to sustainable development,” she said.

Karina David, a representative of the Intercontinental Network of Organic Farmers Organizations (INFO) and the Rural Women in Action Network, also highlighted the gap between recognizing women’s contributions and addressing the inequalities they face.

David cited findings indicating that 75 percent of agricultural policy documents across 68 countries recognize women’s roles and challenges, but only 19 percent contain clear gender equality goals.

She argued that closing this gap is not only a matter of equality but also essential to improving food security, household incomes, resilience and rural development.

“Gender inequality has a real cost, and if I were to close the gap between women and men in the agri-food system, it could add almost $1 trillion to the global economy and reduce food insecurity for 45 million people,” she said.

The findings make it clear: governments must move beyond words and turn promises into real policies, funding, and programs that break down the barriers holding women farmers back.

The scale of women’s participation in agri-food systems further underscores why empowering them must be a priority. Tako Ndiaye, a team leader on gender issues in FAO’s Division for Rural Transformation and Gender Equality, cited findings from a report on the status of women in agri-food systems showing that 41 percent of working women globally are employed in these systems.

She noted that agri-food systems are particularly important sources of livelihoods for women in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, where 70 percent of working women in each region are employed in the sector.

Ndiaye also emphasized the importance of empowering women farmers, their organizations, and networks to participate effectively in family farming policymaking. She called for stronger roles for gender experts and women’s organizations in monitoring the implementation of policy commitments.

Women farmers do more than feed rural economies; they champion environmental sustainability. They conserve seeds, nurture biodiversity, manage precious water, and heal degraded land, using wisdom and practices that keep ecosystems thriving and help communities withstand the challenges of climate change.

Yet their ability to continue this vital work depends on access to land, financial support, modern technologies, and other resources that let them farm sustainably and adapt to a changing environment.

UN Women has called on governments, financial institutions, businesses, and development partners to invest directly in rural women and remove barriers that limit their economic independence and environmental leadership.

The agency also stressed that rural women must have a meaningful role in shaping agricultural policies and decisions on funding allocation for climate action, biodiversity conservation, and land restoration.

MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

ODPP Staff Equipped With New Skills on Land Crimes, Witness Protection and Victims Rights

Published

2 days ago

October 15, 2026

witnessradio.org

Mpigi – The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), through the Department of Land Crimes and the Department of Witness Protection and Victim Empowerment, early this week, held a stakeholders’ engagement at the Mpigi Regional Office to enhance the capacity of prosecutors and investigators in the management of land crimes, witness protection and victims’ rights and empowerment.

The engagement brought together prosecutors and investigators from the region to share knowledge, exchange experiences and explore practical solutions to challenges affecting the effective investigation and prosecution of land-related offences, while strengthening the protection of witnesses and the empowerment of victims within the criminal justice system.

In her welcome remarks, the Regional Officer, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Ms. Rachel Bikhole, welcomed the participants and facilitators to the Mpigi Regional Office. She appreciated the Departments of Land Crimes and Witness Protection and Victim Empowerment for collaborating with the Regional Office to equip prosecutors and investigators with the knowledge and skills necessary to improve service delivery.

The Head of the Department of Land Crimes, Mr. Andrew Odiit, noted that the engagement was timely, given that the region has the highest number of registered land cases in Central Uganda. He expressed optimism that the engagement would provide a valuable platform for sharing experiences, addressing existing challenges and identifying practical solutions to improve the management of land crimes.

Participants received presentations from Mr. Atuhaire Godwin, the Registrar of Titles at Mpigi Zonal Office, who took them through land transfers and registration in Uganda. He explained the procedures and requirements for effective land registration, equipping participants with a better understanding of the processes involved in land transactions and documentation.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Dr. Daisy Nabasitu and Deputy Assistant Superintendent of Police (D/ASP) Bernice Aine respectively made presentations on the prosecution and investigation of land crimes. They highlighted the challenges encountered in handling land-related offences and shared best practices to strengthen investigations and prosecutions.

The Head of the Department of Witness Protection and Victim Empowerment, Mr. Charles Kaamuli, sensitised participants on the legal framework governing witness protection, including the circumstances under which a person may qualify for protection under the law. He also emphasised the importance of empowering victims by guiding them through court processes, explaining what is expected of them and keeping them informed about developments in their cases.

Mr. Kaamuli urged prosecutors to make greater use of the Department of Witness Protection and Victim Empowerment, particularly in cases involving vulnerable witnesses who may require protection and support throughout the criminal justice process.

The engagement underscored the importance of collaboration among prosecutors, investigators and other stakeholders in addressing land crimes, protecting vulnerable witnesses and upholding victims’ rights.

Source: ugstandard.com