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

[kpete]

Source: The Guardian UK

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

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 more than 13 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.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/07/food-water-africa-land-grab

[madrchsod]

1. the rape of africa continues...

[Robb]

2. Rape is a little imprecise

...if the government is taking the foreigners' money.

[seafan]

3. The same reason for the land grab in Africa to raise cattle for the appetites of rich countries.

As a result, the poor and starving regions in Africa don't have enough fertile land remaining to grow food for their own consumption.


Rich countries exploit the poor of other nations by outsourcing jobs from countries like the U. S.

Rich countries exploit the fertile lands and resources of poor nations to maintain lifestyles in countries like the U. S.

Rich countries pillage damn near anything they desire from poor countries, such as oil, water and minerals, with a juicy payoff to the corrupt leaders for their cooperation.



Jesus wept.

[formercia]

7. It brings to mind 'Banana Republics.'

This is just a new twist on an old game.

The Amazon has been raped so we can have cheap hamburger.

[DissedByBush]

12. Reading this, obviously there is enough land

The problem is the corrupt and/or idiotic governments in Africa.

You have governments like this that get rich from foreign investment and little gets to the people.

The government of Ethiopia isn't going to invest what it makes into irrigation and farming programs for the people. It's going to keep the leaders in luxury and style.

Or you have idiotic governments like Zimbabwe, once the breadbasket of Africa, now starving because the president is an idiot.

[my2sense]

4. Just damn.

[jwirr]

5. African leaders should wait until it is fully constructed and then nationalize. nt

[Robb]

6. Worked so well for Zimbabwe. nt

[jwirr]

8. Yeah I know. But I do not see the consumers in EU doing anything to

feed others when they are looking after number 1.

[midnight]

9. K&R.

[No Elephants]

10. But the RW could not understand why Gore won a PEACE prize.

Wait until comestibles, potables and clean air get a bit scarcer.

It ain't gonna be pretty.

Meanwhile, the debate about climate change goes on as though there were almost no urgency whatever.

[AllentownJake]

11. Neo Colonies

It was what was planned for Iraq and Afghanistan...it hasn't worked out so well.

[friendly_iconoclast]

13. Same as Ireland during the potato famine- food exported while people starve.

I recommend reading Cecil Woodham-Smith's "The Great Hunger" to see the 19th Century version of this.

Shit, the only difference this time is their *own* government is helping.

[bossy22]

14. that will be the next major world conflict; over food

many industrialized/developing nations are going to face massive food shortages in the future. Places like China and India are buying up land to produce food for their populations since their own homeland cannot produce enough food.

The bright side is the U.S. stems to gain from this since we have an overcapacity of production. Our food self-sustainability percentage is about 130%...compared to china which is about 80%