Ethiopia at centre of global farmland rush!

It's the deal of the century: £150 a week to lease more than 2,500 sq km (1,000 sq miles) of virgin, fertile land -- an area the size of Dorset -- for 50 years. Bangalore-based food company Karuturi Global says it had not even seen the land when it was offered by the Ethiopian government with tax breaks thrown in.

Karuturi snapped it up, and next year the company, one of the world's top 25 agri-businesses, will export palm oil, sugar, rice and other foods from Gambella province -- a remote region near the Sudan border -- to world markets.

Ethiopia is one of the world's largest recipients of humanitarian food and development assistance, last year receiving more than 700,000 tonnes of food and £1.8bn in aid, but it has offered three million hectares (7.4 million acres) of virgin land to foreign corporations such as Karuturi.

"It's very good land. It's quite cheap. In fact it is very cheap. We have no land like this in India," says Karmjeet Sekhon, project manager for what is expected to be one of Africa's largest farms. "There you are lucky to get 1% of organic matter in the soil. Here it is more than 5%. We don't need fertiliser or herbicides. There is absolutely nothing that will not grow on it.

"To start with there will be 20,000 hectares of oil palm, 15,000 hectares of sugar cane and 40,000 hectares of rice, edible oils and maize and cotton. We are building reservoirs, dykes, roads, towns of 15,000 people. "This is phase one. In three years time we will have 300,000 hectares cultivated and maybe 60,000 workers. We could feed a nation here."

Sparsely-populated Gambella is at the centre of the global rush for cheap land, precipitated by the oil price rise in 2007/2008, when many countries racked by food riots encouraged their farmers to invest abroad to grow food.

The lowest prices are in Africa, where, says the World Bank, at least 35 million hectares of land has been bought or leased. Other groups, including Friends of the Earth International, say the figure is higher. The Ethiopian government says 36 countries including India, China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have leased farm land there

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[samarthdevendra001]

well all the ppl who think that creating jobs in Ethiopia is not ok...while feeding them with subsidised made in USA wheat while destroying domestic agriculture in doing so is totally fine are totally sick...you guys want to see Ethiopians begging for ever...which represents a colonial mindset

[arkivx1]

Pretty sad that the people who live there since the dawn of mankind never farmed it themselves.

[arkivx1]

So slavery is ok in Africa still?

[14pvk]

when Ian Smith declared UDIon 11 Nov 65 in Rhodesia the British kept quiet and allowed settlers to rule over the black man in Rhodesia.they permitted apartheid in South Africa where non whites were kept in their place- they migrated to enjoy white supremacy.They attacked Argentina which is Contiguous to Argentina .Indians will produce food for the Africans and do good .Gt Brit attacked Iraq n libya y not South Africa n Rhodesia under minority illegal white rule cos no fighting white man

[levar1979]

@14pvk Exaclty. And as soon as African countries' GDP starts to skyrocket, Western intellectuals and NGOs get really nervous and intimidated. So, the go on a frenzy to find as many damning reports as possible to undermine Africa and maintain the status quo. They know Eastern countries are the fastest rising economies in general, so Europe feels threatened.

[levar1979]

It's only "land grabbing" if African governments are confiscating land from their own people. In America, we call it "eminent domain". No Indians and Chinese have invaded with guns forcing Ethiopians to give up anything. There is active trade. Both sides get something in return. The only concern is - are the rewards getting to the people who need it most and not just a select few. That is a legitimate argument, but it's not "New Colonialism" ...that's actually Environmentalism.

[14pvk]

the white man never talks of his scramble for Africa and the slave trade now when the Asians are going on invitation of the Ethiopian govt the white man finds fault- z case of sour grapes

[Istory19]

these so called leaders are leading the African nation to death...............MURDERERS!­!!!!!!!!!!!

[Eyaasu]

You low life Agame, here is my response for you.

- these Arab companies lease $1 a hectar/year for 100 years. This is gift not lease.

- the workers get paid 0.80 cents(US 0.04/day) , this is slavery.

- the people who sale the land are not the owners , but Tigres from Mekele , in which they aren't associated with that land.

- All the produce shipped directly to Arab and Asian countries.

- the original owners of the land are displaced from their land against their will, and they live in tent.

D

[Eyaasu]

When God create the black people brain , he lost one of the bolt , look around couldn't find it and said " what ever " then through us to Africa.