MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK
How food and water are driving a 21st-century African land grab
Published
5 years agoon

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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MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK
Despite harsh repression, opposition to the EACOP pipeline in Uganda remains strong
Published
1 week agoon
June 12, 2025
On March 19, 2025, student members of the Justice Movement Uganda, including Ibrahim Mpiima (left), protest in the streets of Kampala against the EACOP oil project and its consequences for the climate and local populations. (Bruce Nahabwe)
“We will keep protesting until our demands are met. This project isn’t sustainable. The world is moving towards renewable energy, and Uganda should follow suit,” says Ibrahim Mpiima, team leader of Justice Movement Uganda, a student-led protest group of around a hundred members opposing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP)—the world’s longest heated oil pipeline.
“We protest whenever we can. The only thing holding us back is money. But as soon as we raise enough, we make banners, buy disposable mobile phones, secure safe houses in case things go wrong—and then we go.” This local group is part of a broader movement, StopEACOP, a coalition of international NGOs that joined forces “for greater solidarity, visibility and funding,” explains the student from Kyambogo University in Kampala.
Despite all the precautions taken by Ibrahim Mpiima and around 30 of his fellow students, he was arrested at the demonstration on 19 March. Taken by force with three other activists to the capital’s high-security prison, he was beaten and tortured before ultimately being released on 3 April. In a story published on social media, Mpiima also accuses security agents of raping him during his detention.
Martha Amviko, an activist with Extinction Rebellion, was also at the protest. “We wanted to march to Parliament to hand in our petition demanding an end to the project. But no sooner had we unfurled our banners than the police appeared. I managed to escape, but not everyone was so lucky. Once they take you away in the police vans, you know you’re going to be badly beaten. The violence is systematic.”
Although protests began several years ago, over the past year around 100 people have been arrested and threatened with prosecution in Uganda for taking part in peaceful demonstrations against oil projects backed by the government.
The EACOP pipeline is expected to stretch approximately 1,400 kilometres, running from Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. It will transport oil from 400 wells in the Tilenga and Kingfisher fields to the coast, where it can be exported to international markets. An estimated 246,000 barrels of oil are expected to flow through the pipeline each day over its projected 25-year operational lifespan.
Presented to the public as opportunities for development, these projects are backed by the governments of Uganda and Tanzania, along with oil giants TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). Initially estimated at US$3.5 billion in 2020, costs have continued to climb. Both countries hope the pipeline will generate substantial revenue and create jobs, both during construction and for ongoing maintenance of the infrastructure.
In a country like Uganda, where per capita income is around US$1,000 per year, the government is banking on oil wealth to lift the nation out of poverty. “We believe this will serve as a catalyst for economic growth,” said Robert Kasande, an official at Uganda’s Ministry of Energy, during the signing ceremony in 2021.
The human cost of pipeline construction
On the ground, however, some residents are facing serious disruptions to their lives and livelihoods. One of them is Geoffrey Byakagaba, a 45-year-old farmer and father of eight, who was stripped of part of his land to make way for the project. “In 2017, Total took ownership of our land in the village. There were several types of compensation on offer. I chose the ‘land for land’ option. They took my land, but to this day, I haven’t been compensated,” he says.
Byakagaba still lives in Kasenyi, in Uganda’s Buliisa district, where the town is currently preparing to host a processing plant for the Tilenga project. He says his standard of living has dropped significantly. “Before the project, I used to grow cassava and sweet potatoes. We ate what we needed and sold the rest. I had 20 to 25 animals—cows and goats. Today, I’m down to just about ten, and my harvest barely feeds the family.”
Due to this loss of income, Byakagaba had to move his children to different schools. “They’re still in school, but in neighbourhoods we’re not happy with.” Since then, he has been surviving by doing odd jobs and selling what he catches fishing. Still, compared to other residents of Kasenyi, he considers himself fortunate. “Luckily, I didn’t live on the land I farmed, so I still have somewhere to stay. That’s not the case for everyone.” He adds: “And I didn’t accept their money. Total’s compensation would never have allowed me to buy land. They offered just 3.5 million shillings per hectare [around €850], but today, buying a hectare around here costs between 10 and 15 million [€2,500 to €3,500]. I would have been ruined. Some people were.”
Geoffrey Byakagaba is the fifth generation of his family to live on this land. For him, it holds far more than just market value.
“This is where I grew up. I inherited nine hectares from my parents, but now I have less than half of that left. If I were to die today, my children would be landless. I’m not just fighting for my rights, but also to leave something behind for my children.”
In April 2021, frustrated by the situation, he decided to file a land-grabbing lawsuit in the High Court of Masindi, seeking fair compensation from the developers of the EACOP project. As he told Equal Times, he was soon labelled a saboteur—not only by the project’s backers but also by the Ugandan authorities—for daring to protest and for speaking to Italian journalist Federica Marsi. Marsi was arrested shortly thereafter, along with Ugandan human rights defender Maxwell Atuhura.
As of 2025, according to Geoffroy Byakagaba, the situation remains unchanged and he is still waiting for compensation. He is not alone. Byakagaba is one of an estimated 118,000 people who have been fully or partially displaced due to the Tilenga and EACOP projects.
One of them is the grandmother of activist Ibrahim Mpiima. “She was evicted from her land in Hoima, so she came to live with us in Kampala. With the compensation she received, she couldn’t afford to buy any land. Because of that, she never felt at peace. And now she has passed away,” says the young man. It was this experience that prompted him to get involved in the campaign against the project while still a student. “At the time, I didn’t know much about EACOP, but seeing what happened to my grandmother made me want to understand it better. Then I realised that most people know nothing about the project or its consequences. Some even believe it’s a development scheme that will lift Uganda out of poverty—when in reality, huge numbers of people have lost their land. We have to fight this misinformation,” he says angrily.
Opponents of the project face harsh repression
Even before the project was officially approved, anti-EACOP mobilisation had already begun to take shape nationally. The movement went global in 2018, coinciding with the major student protests led by Fridays For Future. The world began to take notice of EACOP and its alarming scale—the fifteen protected areas that it will cut through, its proximity to the Great Lakes (Lake Albert and Lake Victoria), one of Africa’s most important sources of fresh water, and its massive projected carbon footprint: 34 million tonnes of CO² per year, compared to Uganda’s annual emissions of just 5 million tonnes. All these reasons have led scientists to describe the project as a ‘carbon bomb’.
In Uganda, authorities have responded in a press release issued by the Ugandan oil authority by describing the international protest movement #StopEacop as a misguided opposition movement bordering on racism and colonialism. According to an investigation by the British media outlet DeSmog, TotalEnergies reportedly hired a South African public relations agency to “squash all the negative PR” surrounding the oil projects. To achieve this, a full-scale campaign has been launched both on the streets and across social media.
For Dickens Kamugisha, CEO of the non-profit AFIEGO (Africa Institute for Energy Governance), which has been tracking the EACOP case for years, this comes as no surprise. “Unfortunately, we have both a weak judicial system and a government that uses the police to punish community members who speak out. Many people have been arrested, intimidated and imprisoned.”
“Here, if you oppose what the government and the company (TotalEnergies, editor’s note) are doing, you become the enemy. And once you’re in their sights, you have to face the consequences.”
Ibrahim Mpiima has always been aware of the risks, having already been arrested once in 2023. “It’s our responsibility. I’m afraid of ending up in prison, of being beaten. I’m really afraid. But if we, the people who are informed, don’t protest, then we will have betrayed all those who believe in us,” he told Equal Times a few days before the demonstrations in March. Reached again by phone after his release from detention, where he endured torture, he said the ordeal had taken its toll: “I feel depressed. I haven’t fully recovered physically or mentally. The feeling is still fresh in my mind, as if it happened yesterday.”
Martha Amviko was also arrested in August 2024 and spent two weeks in prison. “They took us to Luzira, the high-security prison. They put me in the same cell as criminals, people who had committed murder, even though I was being charged with disturbing the public order,” she recalls. “It was overcrowded. From time to time, the guards would call us into their offices where they beat us and did everything to break our spirit.” Despite this ordeal, she insists, “I’d rather die than leave things as they are today. The people building this pipeline will be dead in 20 to 30 years. We are the generation who will have to live with their decisions—us and our children. We cannot give up the fight.”
Indeed, on 23 April, despite the ongoing repression, another demonstration was held in Kampala. Eleven activists were arrested. At the time of writing, they remain behind bars in Luzira high-security prison.
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MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK
Uganda’s top Lands Ministry official has been arrested and charged with Corruption and Abuse of Office, a significant event that will have far-reaching implications for land governance in the country.
Published
2 weeks agoon
June 6, 2025
By Witness Radio team.
Kampala, Uganda – The commissioner of Land Registration from Uganda’s Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Baker Mugaino, has been arrested and charged before the Anti-Corruption Court, Witness Radio has learned.
Mugaino was arrested by officers from the Office of the Inspectorate of Government (IG) on Wednesday, June 4th, and arraigned before the Anti-Corruption Court, where he was charged with corruption and abuse of office. He pleaded not guilty before Chief Magistrate Rachael Nakyaze.
This development confirms findings from numerous reports and investigations by Witness Radio, a leading watchdog for land and environmental rights in Uganda. Witness Radio, through its extensive research and investigative work, has been at the forefront of uncovering systemic corruption and the misuse of authority, particularly within Uganda’s land administration institutions, which continue to fuel land-related injustices, especially against vulnerable and impoverished communities.
The arrest comes at a critical time when the country is experiencing a surge in land grabs, many of which are tied to fraudulent land dealings, title cancellations, double titling, and land transfers facilitated by compromised officials. This is an urgent situation that demands immediate attention and action.
In one of its reports released in 2024, focusing on forced evictions and emerging trends in Uganda, Witness Radio called on the Government of Uganda to address rampant corruption and abuse of power by those in authority, particularly in land registries, the Uganda Police Force, and the army combined with favoritism towards the wealthy at the expense of the poor. This call for government accountability is crucial to ensure transparency and fairness in land administration.
According to the prosecution, Mugaino, in his role as the commissioner of land registration at the Ministry of Lands, unlawfully canceled land titles on April 8 and 20, 2024, which had previously been issued to Tropical Bank Ltd, Akugizibwe Gerald Mugera, and Namayiba Park Hotel. This action, if proven, could have severe financial and social implications for these entities, potentially leading to significant losses and disruptions.
In addition, Mugaino failed to perform his duties as provided for in Section 85 of the Land Act, Cap 236, and his duties as Commissioner of Land Registration.
The center of contention arises from the land located at Kibuga Block 12, Plots 658, 659, and 665 in Kisenyi; Kibuga Block 4, Plot 152 in Namirembe; and Kyadondo Block 244, Plot 2506, in Uganda’s capital Kampala. These are prime locations that have been subject to numerous land disputes, making Mugaino’s actions particularly significant.
Under Section 87 of the Penal Code Cap 120, Mugaino will face imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years if convicted and dismissed from public service.
Witness Radio commends the government for taking action against one of its own, recognizing it as a necessary and hopeful step toward addressing the root causes of land evictions and fraudulent land dealings.
Speaking in response to the recent arrest of the Commissioner for Land Registration, Witness Radio’s Team leader, Jeff Wokulira Ssebaggala, emphasized that most land grabs, illegal evictions, and fraudulent land dealings are orchestrated from within government offices by individuals entrusted with public authority.
“It is time for the government to prosecute its own, those whose continued abuse and misuse of public office have directly fueled widespread land injustices.” Mr. Ssebaggala added.
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MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK
Environmentalists raise red flags over plan to expand oil palm fields in Kalangala
Published
2 weeks agoon
June 4, 2025
President Museveni inspects an oil palm plantation owned by Mr Deogratious Ssesanga, a model farmer in Kalangala District on May 26, 2023. PHOTO/PPU
Environmentalists have raised fresh concerns over the ongoing expansion of oil palm fields in other parts of Kalangala District, warning that it will degrade the ecosystem in the area.
The expansion follows a 2023 directive by President Museveni, allowing oil palm cultivation beyond Kalangala’s main island of Buggala. The initiative targets over 700 acres on Serinya Island, 600 acres on Lulamba, and 1,500 acres on Bukasa Island. Additional land on Bugaba, Bufumira, Buyovu, and Funve islands is also being earmarked for oil palm cultivation.
Environmentalists say this move contradicts earlier safeguards aimed at preserving the ecological integrity of other islands in Kalangala.
The district comprises 84 islands but only 64 are inhabited.
Mr Joseph Byaruhanga, the Kalangala District environmental officer, said the original Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) recommended limiting oil palm to Buggala to protect the natural forests and promote food crop diversity elsewhere.
“The intent was to preserve the natural forests on other islands and maintain food crop cultivation,” Byaruhanga explained in an interview on June 3.
Oil palm cultivation in Kalangala began in 2006, primarily on mailo land. Currently, over 12,000 hectares are under cultivation, including land managed by smallholder farmers and Oil Palm Uganda Limited (OPUL).
Records at the Kalangala District Environment Office indicate that forest cover has plummeted from 57 per cent in 1954 to just 22 per cent currently. The primary drivers of deforestation include rice farming (20 per cent), oil palm growing (18 per cent), and a combination of timber harvesting, settlement, and charcoal burning (16 per cent).
“The economic benefits are pushing residents to clear more land for oil palm, but this has long-term consequences—sedimentation, pollution, and even increased lake accidents and windstorms due to changing weather patterns,” Byaruhanga warned.
“Kalangala is surrounded by shallow waters. Without vegetation to anchor the soil, siltation could gradually fill the lake. If oil palm must expand, then we need a parallel forest restoration programme.” he added.
Mr David Kureeba, a senior programme officer Forests , Biodiversity and Climate Change at National Association of Professional Environmentalists (Nape) cautioned that unregulated oil palm expansion is a looming environmental disaster in the island district . “Although oil palm is a tree-like crop, it does not replicate the ecological functions of natural forests,” he explained.
“Oil palm trees may live for 25 years, but they are no match for indigenous forests. Natural forests are biodiversity hubs with wide canopies, climbing plants, and complex ecosystems,” he added.
Mr Kureeba also noted that forest cover clearance releases greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide, exacerbating global warming. “Methane alone contributes to nearly a quarter of global climate change impacts. Destroying forests releases these gases into the atmosphere,” he said.
“Forests also regulate climate through evapotranspiration, contributing to cloud formation and rainfall. The morning dew and fresh air we enjoy come from forests. Without them, even moisture exchange through leaf stomata disappears,” he further explained.
Mr Frank Muramuzi, NAPE Executive Director, emphasised Kalangala’s vulnerability due to its island geography.
“Clearing forests removes natural windbreaks, exposing the area to strong winds and dangerous weather patterns like tornadoes,” he said.
“Oil palm doesn’t absorb as much carbon dioxide or release as much oxygen as broadleaf trees. Replacing forests with oil palm only worsens the problem,” he added.
Mr Muramuzi also criticised Uganda’s EIA process. “Developers often conduct their own assessments, which tend to downplay environmental risks in favour of economic benefits,” he said.
Despite these concerns, project proponents insist the expansion is being handled responsibly.
Mr Boaz Zaake, an agronomist with Ssese Oil Palm Growers Cooperative Society Limited ( SOPAGCO), said farmers are using cover crops and maintaining buffer zones to prevent erosion and water pollution.
He also argued that most of the targeted land for new oil palm fields was previously abandoned due to tsetse fly infestations and not part of any protected forests.
“All national forests have been preserved. Oil palm trees do produce oxygen just like other trees,” he said.
Mr Muramuzi, however, dismissed this claim, arguing that oil palm trees contribute little to climate regulation.
“Oil palm isn’t a real tree in ecological terms. It has a small leaf surface and limited capacity for carbon capture. Unlike broadleaf indigenous trees, it offers minimal environmental benefits,” he said.
Kalangala Resident District Commissioner, Fred Badda, said an Environmental Impact Assessment will be conducted before any new expansion of oil palm fields is done.
“We are currently assessing the land’s availability and historical use—whether it was forested or not—before proceeding with the EIA,” he said.
At least 11,800 hectares of oil palm trees have so far been planted on Kalangala’s main Island of Buggala in the past two decades, and recently, the project started expanding to other islands of Bunyama, Bukasa and Bubembe.
Source: Monitor
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