By Merga Yonas

A new report from Friends of the Earth (FOE), an environmental group, reveals that the demand for bio-fuel in the European Union is fueling land grabbing in Africa, reducing the land available to grow crops in a continent that already faces a food deficit situation. The report, titled 'Africa: Up for Grabs', was done based on evidence from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Swaziland, Angola, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Benin and Nigeria. Coming out on August 27, the report says that Ethiopia has cleared land inside an elephant sanctuary to make way for bio-fuels.

During the last one year, both the local and international media have reported with a noticeable frequency on international agricultural deals in Ethiopia. It is reported that foreign firms that have started operation include horticulture, Indian companies engaged in the production of sugarcane, tea and cotton and bio-fuel. In addition to rice, wheat and barley, a Saudi Arabian company has contracted to work on palm oil production.

Those firms were given land in Oromia, Afar, Benishangul Gumuz, Gambella, Amhara and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' region (SNNP). A report from Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) shows that about 7,500 hectares of land was allocated to those firms in the regions. Of equal concern is the survival of millions of small-scale farmers against the onslaught of competition by well-greased commercial farms.

Degefu Damasa, 40, a father of five living in Holeta, 40 kilometer west of Addis Ababa, has been denied compensation from the Oromia Regional State for his two hectares of land since 2004. The regional state has given 21.17 hectares of land to Euro-Flora Plc, an Indian company involved in horticultural production. However, nine farmers, who are dependent on the income generated from agricultural products, relinquished their land without any compensation from the responsible body, Degefu told The Reporter.

“We contacted the investment office of the town for years and later the office directed us to take our case to the Oromia Regional State Investment Commission, which we have done again for years. But, so far there is no concrete answer to our questions,” he added. “Farming land is an asset to us, so it is really very hard to end up by handing over our only asset to some rich company.”

According to the 2008 data of the Ethiopian Central Statistics Agency (CSA), without including existing commercial farms, it recalls that even the 13.3 million small-scale agricultural holders in Ethiopia open up over a million hectares of virgin land annually. Not least, against the backdrop of rapid global climatic change, the worry of those who have seen the light is the impact of fast expanding commercial agriculture on the natural environment as well.

Yet, both at the local and international level fresh controversies have begun to brew amongst experts, individual activists, and non-governmental organizations. Many are urging international organizations to do their job on behalf of people that are ignored by their governments. For now, much of the media reporting has remained superficial.

The issue of land grabbing by foreign investors have been articulated over the media, but internalization of the issue by government officials is still a zero-sum game, Merera Gudina (PHD) lecturer on Political Science and International Relation (PSIR) at Addis Ababa University told The Reporter.

In different part of the country, abandoned farmers were facing huge problems, like refusing compensation by which they lead their life. Some are denied employment or are employed by low wages and others has been fired, which is the case of Karvturi, an Indian company involved in different types of agricultural production in Bako (250km) to the west of Addis Ababa. Thus, what the company has been practicing moves against their corporate social responsibility.

“The country has almost become the nightclub for land grabbers, where they can do whatever they are willing to do,” Merera told The Reporter. “In this way, they are also affecting the poor farmers, mother nature's ecosystem and the country’s economy in general.”

A new report from FOE discusses the impact of the production of bio-fuels on the African continent. Specifically, the report seeks to address whether or not bio-fuels provide sustainable development. The dominant catchphrase by bio-fuel companies is that by growing the base crops for bio-fuels in Africa they not only create jobs, but also provide enhanced economic development. However, the FOE report sought to verify those claims or to see this debatable issue.

Indeed, outsourcing food production will ensure food security for investing countries but would leave behind a trail of hunger, starvation and food scarcities for local populations. On the other hand, though the international demands for bio-fuels are growing, allocating land for Jatropha and Palm oil producers will have drastic effect on the future productivity of the land. To avoid all these, the government is expected to place proper legal structures to protect land rights and should also look at some form of international code of conduct related to land allocation, Merera told The Reporter.

EthiopianReporter