Is Saudi Arabia Appropriating Ethiopia’s Land?
via african_stream
“A Saudi company is growing rice on thousands of hectares of fertile land in Ethiopia in order to feed the Gulf state. The firm's signed a 50-year lease with the government and claims it creating jobs and wealth. However, Bwakali argues there are few trickle-down benefits for locals.
The leases are often lopsided in favour of foreign entities, who pay as little as $3 per hectare and enjoy tax breaks. They also undermine the food security of a country that's suffered terrible famines.
of thousands of localBwakali describes it as a modern-day Scramble for Africa. If you factor in the news of Emirati sheikhs buying huge tracts of African land in carbon-offsetting deals, it's hard to miss his point. Blue Carbon, chaired by Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook al-Maktoum, has signed deals that involve a fifth of Zimbabwe, 10% of Liberia, 10% of Zambia, 8% of Tanzania and millions of hectares of Kenyan forests, according to The Guardian.”
