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China agricultural service firms eye overseas market

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Mozambican farmers harvest rice at the Wanbao Mozambique farm in the Xai-Xai district of the southern province of Gaza.
Trade in agricultural services will become a fresh growth point for domestic companies to invest in related projects abroad, as well as help ensure the world’s food supply going forward, said government officials on Tuesday.
The global agricultural products market has been challenged by hindered international circulation, volatile trade policies and increased labor shortages since the outbreak of COVID-19, said Peng Yanjun, deputy director-general of the department of international cooperation at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
To tackle these issues, the official said that promoting high-quality growth of China’s trade in agricultural products requires industry players to focus on trade in agricultural services and build an advanced domestic base for business of this kind.
From the perspective of the industrial chain, the import and export of agricultural services can occur in the areas of production, processing, research and development, packaging, storage and transportation, marketing and retail.
Because the increasingly complex international investment environment has presented more difficulties for domestic companies to pursue “going global” strategies, Peng said, trade in agricultural services is a practical option to meet Chinese firms’ demand to invest in overseas agricultural projects.
By providing full-process solutions for agricultural production in other parts of the world, this move will drive China’s products, funds and technologies to be used overseas and expand the supply of staple foods as well as promote the upgrading of agricultural production in host countries, Peng added.
For example, China Railway 20th Bureau Group Corp, or CR20G-a subsidiary of State-owned China Railway Construction Corp Ltd-has helped farmers in its markets in Mozambique and other African nations achieve stable and high yields by introducing China’s practical agricultural technologies, conducting related services and applying modern machinery for more than half a decade.
Backed by the China-Africa Development Fund, CR20G built a rice processing plant in Xai-Xai, capital of Gaza province, Mozambique, in 2017. The company has been running this project, China’s largest rice planting project on the continent, for more than four years.
By the end of June, the project completed harvesting rice for the 2020-21 planting season, with a harvested area of 36,000 mu (2,400 hectares), yielding 16,600 metric tons of rice. All of the rice from the harvest has been sold in local markets, said Guo Wei, CR20G’s country head for Mozambique operations.
Zhang Jianping, director-general of the China Center for Regional Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said China’s growing outbound direct investment in high-end manufacturing, agriculture, digital and innovation businesses is likely to lead a new round of “going global “for domestic companies.
This will provide opportunities for other countries to enhance ties with China and increase their ability to avoid risk as the country has ensured the smooth operation of the global supply chain, Zhang said.
Nie Fengying, deputy director of the Agricultural Information Institute of Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that based on the institute’s latest study, both the output and consumption of various grain and livestock products in China will continue to increase over the next 15 years.
“China’s imports of rice, soybeans, beef and dairy products will grow during this period, while imports of wheat, corn, pork and poultry will decline,” said Nie, adding that the country is fully capable of ensuring absolute safety of rations and basic self-sufficiency in staple grains and pork throughout this period.
China saw imports of agricultural products surge 12.3 percent to 1.07 trillion yuan ($167.67 billion) in the first three quarters, including 160.79 billion yuan worth of meat and 102.08 billion yuan worth of grain, said the General Administration of Customs.
Original source: China Daily  Via Farm Land Grab

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DEFENDING LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

Statement: The Energy Sector Strategy 2024–2028 Must Mark the End of the EBRD’s Support to Fossil Fuels

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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is due to publish a new Energy Sector Strategy before the end of 2023. A total of 130 civil society organizations from over 40 countries have released a statement calling on the EBRD to end finance for all fossil fuels, including gas.

From 2018 to 2021, the EBRD invested EUR 2.9 billion in the fossil energy sector, with the majority of this support going to gas. This makes it the third biggest funder of fossil fuels among all multilateral development banks, behind the World Bank Group and the Islamic Development Bank.

The EBRD has already excluded coal and upstream oil and gas fields from its financing. The draft Energy Sector Strategy further excludes oil transportation and oil-fired electricity generation. However, the draft strategy would continue to allow some investment in new fossil gas pipelines and other transportation infrastructure, as well as gas power generation and heating.

In the statement, the civil society organizations point out that any new support to gas risks locking in outdated energy infrastructure in places that need investments in clean energy the most. At the same time, they highlight, ending support to fossil gas is necessary, not only for climate security, but also for ensuring energy security, since continued investment in gas exposes countries of operation to high and volatile energy prices that can have a severe impact on their ability to reach development targets. Moreover, they underscore that supporting new gas transportation infrastructure is not a solution to the current energy crisis, given that new infrastructure would not come online for several years, well after the crisis has passed.

The signatories of the statement call on the EBRD to amend the Energy Sector Strategy to

  • fully exclude new investments in midstream and downstream gas projects;
  • avoid loopholes involving the use of unproven or uneconomic technologies, as well as aspirational but meaningless mitigation measures such as “CCS-readiness”; and
  • strengthen the requirements for financial intermediaries where the intended nature of the sub-transactions is not known to exclude fossil fuel finance across the entire value chain.

Source: iisd.org

Download the statement: https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-09/ngo-statement-on-energy-sector-strategy-2024-2028.pdf

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PETITIONS

Complaint against unprofessional conduct of the DPC Kiryandongo district for aiding and abetting land grabbing in kiryandongo district.

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The Commandant,

Professional Standards Unit, Uganda Police-Kampala.

Dear Sir/Madam;

RE: COMPLAINT AGAINST UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT OF THE DPC KIRYANDONGO DISTRICT FOR AIDING AND ABETTING LAND GRABBING IN NYAMUTENDE KITWARA PARISH KIRYANDONGO DISTRICT AND CARRYING OUT ILLEGAL ARRESTS AND DETENTION OF INNOCENT RESIDENTS/ BIBANJA OWNERS FOR PROTESTING AGAINST THE ILLEGAL EVICTION FROM THEIR LAND.

We act for and behalf of the Lawful and bonafide occupants of Land described as LRV MAS 2 FOLIO 8 BLOCK 8 PLOT 22 (FORMERLY KNOWN AS RANCH 22).

Our Clients are residents of Nyamutende Village, Kitwara Parish in Kiryandongo District where they have lived for more than 30 years and sometime in 2017, they applied for a lease of the said Land to Kiryandongo District Land Board through the Directorate of Land Matters State House.

As they were still awaiting their Application to be processed, they were shocked to establish that the said land had been instead leased to and registered in the names of Isingoma Julius, Mwesige Simon, John Musokota William, Tumusiime Gerald, Wabwire Messener Gabriel, Ocema Richard and Wilson Shikhama, some of whom were not known to the Complainants. A copy of the Search is attached hereto

Our clients protested the above action and appealed to relevant offices, but were shocked to discover that the above persons had gone ahead and sold the same to a one Maseruka Robert.

Aggrieved by these actions, the Complainants appealed to the RDC who advised them to institute proceedings against the said persons, and assigned them a one Mbabazi Samuel to assist them to that effect. The said Mbabazi accordingly filed Civil Suit Noa 46 of 2019 against tne said registered proprietors at Masindi High Court challenging the illegal and fraudulent registration, sale and transfer of the subject land to Maseruka Robert.

While awaiting the progress of the case mentioned hereinabove, the Complainants were surprised to find that the said Mbabazi, instead of assisting them, he went into a consent settling the said suit on their behalf without their knowledge or consent. A copy of the Consent is attached hereto.

Among the terms of the said consent Judgment was that the residents would be compensated without specifying how much and would in return vacate the Land.

As if that was not enough, Maseruka Robert and Mbabazi Samuel are going ahead to execute the said Consent Judgment by forcefully evicting the occupants without compensation which has prompted the complainants to challenge the said Consent by applying for its review and setting aside at Masindi High Court which is coming up for hearing on the 29th March 2023. A copy of the Application is attached hereto.

Sensing the imminent threat of eviction, we also filed an application for interim stay of execution of the said consent to avoid rendering their application for review nugatory but unfortunately the same could not be heard on the date it was fixed for hearing (6th February 2023). A copy of the Application is attached hereto

On Thursday last week, three tractors being operated by 6 workers of a one Mbabazi Samuel [the very person who had been entrusted to represent our Clients to secure their Land through Civil Suit No.46 of 2019] encroached close to 50 acres of our Clients’ land and started ploughing it but our Client’s protested and chased them away.

We have however been shocked to receive information from our Clients that on Sunday at Mid night, 3 police patrols invaded the community in the night and arrested community members; Mulenje Jack, Steven Kagyenji, Mulekwa David, Ntambala Geoffrey, Tumukunde Isaac 15 years, Kanunu Innocent, Mukombozi Frank, Kuzara, Rwamunyankole Enock, and took them to Kiryandongo Police Station where they are currently detained.

We strongly protest the illegal arrests and detention of our Clients as this is a carefully orchestrated land grabbing scheme by Maseruka Robert and Mbabazi Samuel who are  receiving support from the DPC Kiryandongo.

The purpose of this Letter therefore is to request your good office to investigate the misconduct, abuse of office and unprofessionalism of the said DPC Kiryandongo District and all his involvement in the land grabbing schemes on land formerly known as Ranch 22.

Looking forward to your urgent intervention,

C.C The Head Police Land Protection Unit Police Head Quarters Naguru

CC The RDC Kiryandongo District

CC The Chairman LCVKityadongo District

CC The Regional Police CommanderAlbertine Region

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WITNESS RADIO MILESTONES

The Executive Director of Witness Radio Uganda talks about the role played by Witness Radio in protecting communities affected by large-scale agribusinesses in Kiryandongo district in an interview with the ILC.

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