Manufactured Hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa
by Jesse Koklas
Sub-Saharan Africa has a higher percentage of its land tied up in “land grab” deals than any other region in the world, and the DRC most noticeably with nearly 50% of its land subject to such arrangements. 70% of all land grabs in the world are concentrated in this region. Land grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions in developing nations by governments, individuals, and most often multinational corporations. The land acquisition most often takes the form of longterm leases rather than outright purchases, but the term of a lease could last for up to 99 years, according to Obang Metho of Solidarity Movement for New Ethiopia. While this has been occurring for some time now, “land grabbing” today primarily refers to the large-scale land acquisitions following the 2007-2008 World Food Price Crisis, when developed nations looked for ways to soothe worries of food insecurity in their own countries. These countries saw opportunity to own or operate a piece of Africa’s vast resource of land, in some cases at absurdly low prices, from countries that welcomed any investment as a beneficial one.
The World Food Price Crisis of 2007-08 affected developed and developing countries all over the world. The high levels of inflation caused noticeable economic instability, which led to political instability and much rioting, particularly in developing nations. The earlier spike in prices, in late 2006, were linked to droughts in oil producing countries, whose higher oil prices set off a chain-reaction of rising prices- in fertilizers, transportation costs, industrial agriculture, and other costs associated with the production, distribution and exchange of food. However, the long term causes of the 2007-2008 price increases are subject to much debate, and the actual causes go back much further than 2006. Regardless, because the financial crisis affected virtually every country, many sought to protect their people from price shock through the acquisition of millions of hectares of land from Africa, as well as Asian countries like Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma. Gulf States like Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are rich in capital yet poor in the resource of agricultural land, and so depend heavily on imports for food.
Land grabs in developing countries began when governments sought to stimulate investment and capital injection in arable land. They wanted to stimulate growth in their countries, and the simplest way to do this was to invite foreign investors to come in and develop the land at a minimal price. Since the government saw the development of the land as an immense benefit for their country, the foreign entities were not only charged a minimal price for the land, but were of en offered incentives such as housing, labor with no minimum wage restrictions, tax breaks, and unrestricted rights to everything they produced (often cash crops or biofuels) which were consequently exported to their country of origin. Additionally, when the exports were fully manufactured into finished products, the finished products were often sold back to the developing countries at prices far exceeding those of the original exports. Since their independence, the default of land ownership in many African countries has been public ownership, thereby giving the government full authority to lease or sell as they see fit. Although the governments began this practice as a means of developing their countries, the amount of leases and sales to foreign corporations and governments has escalated to such a level where it is helping the foreign countries while continuously disadvantaging the African ones. In a 2010 report, the World Bank estimated that over 46 million hectares (about 250,000 square miles) in large-scale farmland acquisitions or negotiations were announced in October 2008-August 2009 alone, with two-thirds of demanded and purchased land concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of the World Bank’s 464 examined acquisitions, only 203 included land area in their reports. This implies that the actual total land tied up in this type of arrangement could be much more than its estimated 46 million hectares. In fact, at The International Conference on Global Land Grabbing in April 2011 held by the Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) at the University of Sussex, reports estimated the area of land deals at over 80 million hectares; almost double the findings of the World Bank. In the Sudan, where the World Food Program fed 5.6 million people in 2008, we can see how deals of this nature occur; the government, pushed by the World Bank, believes it is better than no development at all, and foreign investors are particularly attracted to the country for its several relatively water-rich areas. However, these types of deals occur even without the knowledge of the government. In a particularly unsettling example in 2009, Jarch Capital, a US-based private investment firm leased 400,000 hectares of South Sudanese land- not from the government, but from a Sudanese warlord whose son had simply claimed the territory. In Brazil, there have been examples of actual “grab” situations, when the government and illegal loggers go into areas of the Amazon and violently push out the inhabitants in order to lease the land for foreign companies.
The main issue is that what is being produced on these lands is not going to the people who live there. They are not getting nearly enough food, and food insecurity is a way of life. This is not because there is not enough food there; it is because the food that is produced leaves the country to feed the rest of the world, while those at home are left wanting. Cash crops are the most profitable for foreign investors, and so they produce tea, coffee, and sugar cane, to name a few- all things that cannot feed the people who work and live in these countries. In Mozambique, land deals cover over 21% of agricultural area, and cane sugar is the most common crop on these lands. In one particular community, a great deal of land was transferred to Illovo to build one such farm. The company denied irrigation water to community members who refused to participate in the cane sugar production, and poisoned the soil for local famers by spraying pesticides. This illustrates the power that land grab deals gives to foreign investors, and how it cripples local ventures. This system enforces reliance on foreign investors, takes away the profits of the land from its people and exports them elsewhere, and inhibits the empowerment of local people. In effect, the practice of land grabbing in sub-Saharan Africa is so prevalent, that it prevents the countries from overcoming poverty and hunger, and severely restricts the possibility of development and economic growth.
Africa is not short on resources. Many countries have natural resources of gas, oil, and elements below their surface, yet much remains untapped or in the hands of foreign companies. In addition, many countries have an abundance of arable land that is not being used effectively in order to benefit the people by alleviating hunger. The World Bank and the IMF encourage land grab deals, as they push for as minimal government intervention and regulation as possible. Land grabs lead to food insecurity, which leads to food riots and rebellions, which contribute to unstable governments. If this system is not altered, the dire problem of widespread food insecurity will not be solved. The people must be given sovereignty over their own food production, and the terms of this production must not be dictated by foreign entities. This means more government regulation, and establishment of parastatels- government businesses that will provide job opportunities and sustainable development. If governments are unwilling to make these changes in order to feed their people, the people must offer resistance. Developing countries must lessen their dependence on other nations, and take their development into their own hands.
by Jesse Koklas
Sub-Saharan Africa has a higher percentage of its land tied up in “land grab” deals than any other region in the world, and the DRC most noticeably with nearly 50% of its land subject to such arrangements. 70% of all land grabs in the world are concentrated in this region. Land grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions in developing nations by governments, individuals, and most often multinational corporations. The land acquisition most often takes the form of longterm leases rather than outright purchases, but the term of a lease could last for up to 99 years, according to Obang Metho of Solidarity Movement for New Ethiopia. While this has been occurring for some time now, “land grabbing” today primarily refers to the large-scale land acquisitions following the 2007-2008 World Food Price Crisis, when developed nations looked for ways to soothe worries of food insecurity in their own countries. These countries saw opportunity to own or operate a piece of Africa’s vast resource of land, in some cases at absurdly low prices, from countries that welcomed any investment as a beneficial one.
The World Food Price Crisis of 2007-08 affected developed and developing countries all over the world. The high levels of inflation caused noticeable economic instability, which led to political instability and much rioting, particularly in developing nations. The earlier spike in prices, in late 2006, were linked to droughts in oil producing countries, whose higher oil prices set off a chain-reaction of rising prices- in fertilizers, transportation costs, industrial agriculture, and other costs associated with the production, distribution and exchange of food. However, the long term causes of the 2007-2008 price increases are subject to much debate, and the actual causes go back much further than 2006. Regardless, because the financial crisis affected virtually every country, many sought to protect their people from price shock through the acquisition of millions of hectares of land from Africa, as well as Asian countries like Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma. Gulf States like Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are rich in capital yet poor in the resource of agricultural land, and so depend heavily on imports for food.
Land grabs in developing countries began when governments sought to stimulate investment and capital injection in arable land. They wanted to stimulate growth in their countries, and the simplest way to do this was to invite foreign investors to come in and develop the land at a minimal price. Since the government saw the development of the land as an immense benefit for their country, the foreign entities were not only charged a minimal price for the land, but were of en offered incentives such as housing, labor with no minimum wage restrictions, tax breaks, and unrestricted rights to everything they produced (often cash crops or biofuels) which were consequently exported to their country of origin. Additionally, when the exports were fully manufactured into finished products, the finished products were often sold back to the developing countries at prices far exceeding those of the original exports. Since their independence, the default of land ownership in many African countries has been public ownership, thereby giving the government full authority to lease or sell as they see fit. Although the governments began this practice as a means of developing their countries, the amount of leases and sales to foreign corporations and governments has escalated to such a level where it is helping the foreign countries while continuously disadvantaging the African ones. In a 2010 report, the World Bank estimated that over 46 million hectares (about 250,000 square miles) in large-scale farmland acquisitions or negotiations were announced in October 2008-August 2009 alone, with two-thirds of demanded and purchased land concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of the World Bank’s 464 examined acquisitions, only 203 included land area in their reports. This implies that the actual total land tied up in this type of arrangement could be much more than its estimated 46 million hectares. In fact, at The International Conference on Global Land Grabbing in April 2011 held by the Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) at the University of Sussex, reports estimated the area of land deals at over 80 million hectares; almost double the findings of the World Bank. In the Sudan, where the World Food Program fed 5.6 million people in 2008, we can see how deals of this nature occur; the government, pushed by the World Bank, believes it is better than no development at all, and foreign investors are particularly attracted to the country for its several relatively water-rich areas. However, these types of deals occur even without the knowledge of the government. In a particularly unsettling example in 2009, Jarch Capital, a US-based private investment firm leased 400,000 hectares of South Sudanese land- not from the government, but from a Sudanese warlord whose son had simply claimed the territory. In Brazil, there have been examples of actual “grab” situations, when the government and illegal loggers go into areas of the Amazon and violently push out the inhabitants in order to lease the land for foreign companies.
The main issue is that what is being produced on these lands is not going to the people who live there. They are not getting nearly enough food, and food insecurity is a way of life. This is not because there is not enough food there; it is because the food that is produced leaves the country to feed the rest of the world, while those at home are left wanting. Cash crops are the most profitable for foreign investors, and so they produce tea, coffee, and sugar cane, to name a few- all things that cannot feed the people who work and live in these countries. In Mozambique, land deals cover over 21% of agricultural area, and cane sugar is the most common crop on these lands. In one particular community, a great deal of land was transferred to Illovo to build one such farm. The company denied irrigation water to community members who refused to participate in the cane sugar production, and poisoned the soil for local famers by spraying pesticides. This illustrates the power that land grab deals gives to foreign investors, and how it cripples local ventures. This system enforces reliance on foreign investors, takes away the profits of the land from its people and exports them elsewhere, and inhibits the empowerment of local people. In effect, the practice of land grabbing in sub-Saharan Africa is so prevalent, that it prevents the countries from overcoming poverty and hunger, and severely restricts the possibility of development and economic growth.
Africa is not short on resources. Many countries have natural resources of gas, oil, and elements below their surface, yet much remains untapped or in the hands of foreign companies. In addition, many countries have an abundance of arable land that is not being used effectively in order to benefit the people by alleviating hunger. The World Bank and the IMF encourage land grab deals, as they push for as minimal government intervention and regulation as possible. Land grabs lead to food insecurity, which leads to food riots and rebellions, which contribute to unstable governments. If this system is not altered, the dire problem of widespread food insecurity will not be solved. The people must be given sovereignty over their own food production, and the terms of this production must not be dictated by foreign entities. This means more government regulation, and establishment of parastatels- government businesses that will provide job opportunities and sustainable development. If governments are unwilling to make these changes in order to feed their people, the people must offer resistance. Developing countries must lessen their dependence on other nations, and take their development into their own hands.
