Tag Archives: landgrab

Crops are interesting for investors because if the price of food is low and the price of energy is high, you can then use the crops for energy. But these types of crops are not nutrient-dense, so it’s not great in terms of food security.

An apparent surge in the purchase of African land by foreign companies and governments to grow food and other crops for export has set alarm bells ringing on and off the continent. The headlines have been strident: “The Second Scramble for Africa Starts,” “Quest for Food Security Breeds Neo-Colonists,” “Food Security or Economic Slavery?”   The outcries reflect the continuing …

For more than a decade Tanzania has been wooing foreign investors to help modernize and reinvigorate its agricultural sector – which engages about 80 percent of the population – as a way of boosting national development. But many supposed beneficiaries, such as smallholder Ahmed Kipanga, a 37-year-old father of five from the coastal Kisarawe District, feel short-changed. “I used to …

A new report by Dutch consultancy firm Ecofys claims that European demand for biofuels is not to blame for “land grabbing” in poorer countries. The report — commissioned by an organization that “represents the European renewable ethanol industry” — comes as EU law-makers discuss new biofuel legislation that could curb support to the sector. The report reviews deals accounting for 67 per cent of total …