MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

Indian agribusiness sets sights on land in east Africa

Published

4 years ago

December 1, 2020

Workers at an 11,000 hectare farm in Bako, Ethiopia, run by the Indian company Karuturi. Photograph: Xan Rice

Indian agribusiness companies are ready to spend $2.5bn buying, or renting for decades, several million hectares of cheap land in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda in what could be some of the largest farming deals struck in Africa in the last 50 years.

But in a separate development, plans for a US-based investment company to lease up to 1m hectares of South Sudan for only $25,000 a year appears to have stalled following protests by local communities over the potential “land grab”.

A delegation of 35 Indian investors, including food conglomerates McLeod Russel, Kaveri Seeds, and Karuturi Global, has been touring Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda for the last week to seek land to grow palm oil, maize, cotton, rice and vegetables, largely for the burgeoning Indian market.

Karuturi said this week in Dar es Salaam that it was ready to spend $500m acquiring and developing 200,000 hectares of land for palm oil, 150,000 for cereals and 20,000 for sugarcane. This is in addition to $400m the company is spending to develop 100,000 hectares in Gambella province in Ethiopia. The investors have said they are each ready to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on what is some of the cheapest land in the world, being offered on decades-long leases for as little as $1.50 per hectare per year.

“There is huge potential for the agriculture sector in east Africa,” said Karuturi’s managing director, Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi. “The region has 120m hectares of arable land, the same size of arable land India has.”

The deals, if concluded, would swell growing concerns for the “land grab” phenomenon now taking place around the world. According to the UN, (pdf) at least 60m hectares of land, mostly in Africa but increasingly in Latin America, have been bought or leased for up to 100 years as western hedge and pension funds have moved to buy land as an alternative investment to property, and wealthy Middle East countries have sought land to grow food after food riots and droughts. China, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as well as many smaller Middle East countries have led the deals.

Cash-strapped developing country governments have largely welcomed the “foreign direct investments”, arguing that they have millions of hectares of surplus land suitable for intensive arable farming. In addition, they say, the companies guarantee to provide thousands of jobs.

But there has been growing alarm at some of the handouts and tax exemptions in favour of the companies, potentially at the expense of local communities. Many of the projects have barely started producing food, but tens of thousands of people are expected to be evicted, and land traditionally used by pastoralist farmers is being fenced off. In addition, many companies are being allowed to grow food primarily for export despite increasingly hungry home markets.

“No one should believe that these investors are there to feed starving Africans, create jobs or improve food security,” said Obang Metho of Solidarity Movement for New Ethiopia. “These agreements – many of which could be in place for 99 years – do not mean progress for local people and will not lead to food in their stomachs. These deals lead only to dollars in the pockets of corrupt leaders and foreign investors.”

“Most of these deals are characterised by a lack of transparency, despite the profound implications posed by the consolidation of control over global food markets and agricultural resources by financial firms,” said a recent report by US based Oakland Institute , following an investigation into contracts being agreed in six countries.

However, the largest land deal in South Sudan, where as much as 9% of the country’s land is estimated by Norwegian analysts to have been bought in the last few years, is thought to have stalled after unrest by local communities. Texas-based Nile Trading and Development had reportedly agreed a 49-year lease of 600,000 hectares of Central Equatoria state for around $25,000 a year with an option to increase its holding to nearly 1m hectares. The company, headed by former US ambassador Howard Eugene Douglas, would have been allowed to exploit all natural resources, including oil, and to apply for UN-backed carbon credits that could provide it with millions of dollars a year.

But the deal is believed to have stalled after the community of Mukaya Payam in Lainya county, Central Equatoria state, appealed to MPs and the president of South Sudan. “We the chiefs, elders, religious leaders and the youth of Mukaya Payam unanimously, with strong terms, condemn, disavow, or deny the land-lease agreement reached on 11 March 2008 between the two parties,” said the community in a letter to MPs.

President Salva Kiir responded: “This issue has to be addressed according to your will. You are the government and you have powers.”

In a separate study, the US-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs, has concluded that much of Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia in Latin America has been acquired by foreign companies to farm.

“In Paraguay, Argentine firms and individuals own about 60% of the 3m hectares of land used to cultivate soy. Foreigners own 19.4% of all Paraguayan land and Argentines own almost all of the 500,000 hectares of Uruguayan soil designated for soy cultivation, while foreigners own 25% of the country’s total arable land,” say the authors. Foreign agribusiness investors own or rent over 1m hectares of Bolivia, according to the report.

“Instead of allowing their lands to be exploited by multinational corporations, these Latin American countries must wean themselves off foreign demands and make their own food security their top priority,” say the authors.

Original Post: The Guardian

Related Topics:Agribusiness East Africa land rights

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Oil activities in Murchison Falls National Park threaten Wildlife Conservation – AFIEGO study reveals.

Published

2 days ago

July 25, 2024

witnessradio.org

By Witness Radio team.

A study conducted by the Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) and its partners has revealed that oil development activities are threatening the existence of Wildlife conservation at Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP).

Uganda has 10 National Parks including Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo, Murchison Falls, Kidepo Valley, Kibale, Mount Elgon, Rwenzori Mountains, Semuliki, Mgahinga Gorilla, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Parks and are managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority, (UWA).

Murchison Falls National Park, one of the oldest and most visited national parks in Uganda, is highly attractive to tourists due to its rich biodiversity. According to the Ministry of Wildlife, Tourism, and Antiquities’ 2024 report, Murchison Falls National Park received the highest number of tourists among all the national parks in Uganda between 2019 and 2023.

Data from Ministry of Tourism shows that in 2023, the Murchison park received 141,335 visitors which is equivalent to 36.4% of the 387,914 tourists that visited Uganda’s ten national parks.

The 24-page document titled Murchison Falls National Park is dying: How oil activities, climate change, and poaching are negatively reshaping the Park’ reveals that the Tilenga oil project infrastructural development presents immense risks to Murchison Falls National Park.

The Tilenga Oil project, part of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is operated by Total Energies E&P (U) B.V. According to the EACOP website, EACOP is being constructed in parallel with two upstream development projects known as Tilenga and Kingfisher respectively.

Between February and June 2024, AFIEGO and partners conducted research to assess the progress of the development of the Tilenga oil project infrastructure and to examine the impact of this infrastructure on biodiversity.

In Murchison Falls National Park, oil sector infrastructure such as drilling rigs, well pads, flowlines, pipelines, roads, and others are being developed to enable commercial oil production by TotalEnergies under the Tilenga oil project.

Findings reveal that there has been progress in developing oil sector infrastructure in park assessed through satellite images. According to the study analysis of May 2024, satellite imagery shows rapid development of the tens of well pads and clearing for roads and the pipeline network inside the park.

The progress in oil development has had chilling effects on humans and biodiversity. Findings from the study expressed growing concern and fear towards light pollution, increased poaching risks, and increased motorization. Elephants are invading different areas of residence because of vibrations from the oil rig.

Among the impacts seen is the escape of wild animals from the park and the killing of people neighboring it. The study reveals that between 2023 and April 2024 in Buliisa district, five people have been killed by elephants. Oil host communities that live around the Park reported that elephants are moving from the Park and are invading communities destroying croplands and killing people.

According to experts in the study, the elephants could feel the vibrations from the drilling rig in their feet which causes them to move away from the Park and into communities.

The study also noted that the Tilenga oil project drilling rig is responsible for increasing light pollution in the Park and the surrounding communities. The light from the rig can be seen at long distances up to 13.9km away. Concerns were raised by this research’s respondents, who observed that the feeding and other patterns of nocturnal and light-sensitive wildlife could be negatively impacted by the rig’s light pollution. Such wildlife includes leopards, lions, birds, and others. These could migrate from the Park, or suffer worse impacts such as death.

Away from the above, the study observed that the paved roads that have been constructed in Park to support the Tilenga oil project activities have opened it up to more motorised traffic exposing wildlife to poaching, accidents as well as noise and air pollution.

Furthermore, Well-pads are located an estimated 950 and 750 metres respectively from the Murchison Falls-Albert Delta Ramsar Site in Park which is an Important Birding Area and important spawning ground for the Lake Albert fisheries.

“The development of good pads near the Ramsar site has been implicated in risking the conservation of aquatic biodiversity such as water birds especially the vulnerable Shoebill, fishes, and mammals like the hippopotamus” the study mentioned.

Additionally, the development of well pads and other oil sector infrastructure were also implicated in increasing the human population in Park. “The presence of human beings has been shown to lead to avoidance by wildlife, especially larger mammalian predators, of areas where human beings are. Wildlife such as the Uganda Kob was said to be slowly acclimatizing to the human presence and can be found near oil sector workers”. The study revealed.

Also, it pins oil activities in the Northern sector of the Park where the rig that will drill the Jobiri wells is located, the Northern side is characterized by savanna vegetation hosting more wildlife than the Southern sector, endangering the conservation of the savanna grasslands. According to experts in the study, predators such as lions, hyenas, leopards, and others also prefer to live in the Northern sector of the Park where they can easily access prey among others.

This study was released barely a few weeks after a group of 828 civil society organizations (CSOs) led by Afiego, oil host communities, fisherfolk, small-scale farmers as well as tour and travel operators, and other individuals from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) petitioned President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to stop the ongoing TotalEnergies’ oil drilling in Murchison Falls National Park and its planned deployment of a second oil rig in the Park.

The petition followed reports that Total Energies E&P (U) B.V. was sweet-talking the President to allow them to deploy the second rig in the Park following the Petroleum Authority of Uganda’s (PAU) refusal, to allow them to deploy another oil rig in the Park over biodiversity conservation concerns.

As Total looks to add more oil rigs escalating the impacts, the recent study reveals that its current infrastructural projects—including oil rigs, well pads, pipelines, and roads—continue to cause negative impacts on biodiversity conservation in the Park.

In a bid to strengthen biodiversity conservation, the research study recommends that TotalEnergies and the Ugandan government stop all oil exploitation activities in the Park and calls for the intervention of the United Nations (UN), Ramsar secretariat, and UNESCO World Heritage Committee to engage the Ugandan government to stop the oil activities in Park.

Furthermore, the Ugandan government and development partners called upon to support the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in addressing risks such as climate change, poaching, and human-wildlife conflicts that are endangering the conservation of vital wildlife that supports the multi-billion tourism and other industries in Uganda.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority refused to comment on the study findings. The spokesperson of the Authority Mr. Bashir Hangi in an interview with Witness Radio said he was unable to comment on its contents.

“We haven’t read the detailed report and cannot comment on its contents. Allow us to read the report,” he wrote in a WhatsApp text message to Witness Radio.

Dr. Patricia Litho Kevin, the Assistant Commissioner for Communication in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, acknowledged that there are potential risks associated with oil exploration and production, a reason why they established robust regulations, monitoring mechanisms, and contingency plans to prevent and respond to any environmental incidents.

She adds that the Government of Uganda is committed to ensuring that the oil projects are executed in an environmentally sustainable and responsible manner because it also understands the importance of preserving the natural heritage and biodiversity.

MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

A Financial gap: Can China be stopped from financing the EACOP?

Published

3 days ago

July 24, 2024

witnessradio.org

By Witness Radio and Südnordfunk team.

The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) faces a financial hole. Numerous Western banks and insurers have already bailed out – meanwhile, the pipeline construction is in full swing. The shareholders seem confident that they will be able to finance the project. And Chinese banks, in particular, are coming into play.

Witness Radio’s Partner, Südnordfunk, a community radio in Germany, speaks to Zaki Mamdoo of the StopEACOP Movement and Ryan Brightwell of BankTrack about the reasons for the delay and the question of how China can be stopped from funding this disastrous project during the -Project is no longer attractive. China intends to close EACOP’s financial gap program.

The program was first broadcast in Germany, and Witness Radio is bringing you the same program in the English version.

Südnordfunk is partnering with Witness Radio to shed light on the different ways the construction of the EACOP pipeline is and will be affecting people, the resettlement programs, evictions, the socio-ecological consequences, and the entanglements of European politics.

Tune in. In case you missed both live programs (English and German broadcasts).

MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

NEMA suspend operations to evict the World Bank project-affected community and other residents accused of being located in wetlands.

Published

5 days ago

July 22, 2024

witnessradio.org

By Witness Radio team

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has halted all evictions in the Kawaala Zone II and Nabweru villages until community petitions protesting against the evictions are heard. Witness Radio has learned.

This decision to halt the evictions followed several petitions by hundreds of residents affected by the Lubigi wetland restoration exercise. In June, the residents from the two villages petitioned NEMA, seeking a review of the eviction orders issued by evictors and compensation for those whose properties got demolished.

Some of the petitioners are waiting to receive compensation after signing a remedy agreement from a mediation process facilitated by the World Bank’s Dispute Resolution Services (DRS).

In one of their petitions, the World Bank project affected community accused NEMA of hiding behind the Lubigi restoration exercise to deny them compensation for their land which was earmarked for Lubigi drainage expansion, that they had been waiting for over a year.

Since June 2024, many residents in Kawaala Zone II, Nansana, Nabweru, and other villages have forcefully been evicted from their land, while others have faced eviction threats from NEMA claiming these residents encroached on Lubigi wetland.

However, victims have contested NEMA claims, asserting that they have not infringed on wetlands. Some residents claim to have land ownership titles issued by the government of Uganda, while others are tenants of the Buganda Land Board from whom they have been paying ground rent. It is on these grounds that they petitioned the NEMA.

Addressing the affected residents, their lawyers, and village leaders at NEMA offices in Kampala, Dr. Akankwasah Barirenga, the Executive Director of NEMA, confirmed that NEMA was in receipt of several partitions and stated that the authority will hear all communities’ petitions. He further emphasized that no one should be evicted or disturbed from their land until all petitions are heard.

According to NEMA, it has received 137 petitions, and a final decision on whether to evict or not will be made upon completion of hearings.

“No one is going to evict you from your homes before the completion of the hearing of your petitions. After hearing these petitions, you will be informed of the decisions. If it is established that the petitions have substance, the tribunal will decide based on what has been heard,” Dr. Akankwasah revealed