farmlandgrab.org | Saudi Star | en

Ethiopia: Army commits torture, rape

28 Aug 2012 | HRW
The Ethiopian military responded to an attack on a farm in Gambella region owned by Saudi Star Agricultural Development Plc with arbitrary arrests, rape, and other abuses against scores of local villagers, says Human Rights Watch.

Has Saudi Star learned right lessons from deadly anti-'land grab' attacks on its Ethiopian farm?

06 Jun 2012 | African Agriculture
Major agricultural investor in Ethiopia, Saudi Star, has bigger problems there than it might have expected.

Human rights violations and deteriorating security threaten indigenous peoples in Ethiopia

03 May 2012 | ASO
The attack on the Saudi Star Company has served as a pretext for a hunting down of innocent civilians and a campaign of murder, torture, harassment and intimidation in the remote corners of the country, warns Anywaa Survival.

Saudi Star Pakistani foreign workers and Ethiopians killed in raid on Saudi farm compound—believed related to land grabs

30 Apr 2012 | SMNE
Indigenous people fear collective retaliation by government security forces.

Official: Gunmen kill 5 farmworkers in Ethiopia

29 Apr 2012 | Associated Press
Gunmen attacked the camp of an agricultural company owned by a Saudi billionaire in southwest Ethiopia, Federal Affairs Minister Shiferaw Teklemariam said.

Ethiopia: A battle for land and water

28 Feb 2012 | PBS
A controversial resettlement program in Ethiopia is the latest battleground in the global race to secure prized farmland and water. Correspondent Cassandra Herrman reports as part of the Food for 9 Billion series, a NewsHour partnership with the Center for Investigative Reporting, Homelands Productions and Marketplace.

MIDROC thrives at privatisation tender

27 Feb 2012 | Addis Fortune
Two MIDROC-affiliated companies, largely owned by the Saudi tycoon Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi, are Saudi Star Agricultural Plc and Horizon Plantations Plc. Both offered tens of millions of Birr to acquire state-owned plantations last week.

Saudi billionaire to invest $3.4 billion in Ethiopia over next five years

27 Feb 2012 | Bloomberg
Al-Amoudi’s Saudi Star Agricultural Development Plc, which is primarily growing rice to export to Saudi Arabia, has leased 10,000 hectares in Gambella region and is in the “process of leasing an additional 290,000 hectares”.

Ethiopia: Land grabs are fueling violence in Gambela

22 Feb 2012 | ASO
The growing insecurity and violence in Gambela, seen in the recent loss of human lives and attacks on government institutions, should be seen as a clear warning to investors about the dangers involved in large scale agricultural investments, says the Anywaa Survival Organisation.

Saudi Star among firms behind thousands of forced relocations in Ethiopia

24 Jan 2012 | Green Prophet
Saudi Star has begun rice cultivation on 10,000ha of land in Gambella and a 10,000ha irrigation project along the already-compromised Alwero River. Only grain that does not meet export requirements will be sold locally.

Choc de cultures en Ethiopie

05 Jan 2012 | Le Monde
Gilles van Kote, envoyé spécial du Monde, et Jiro Ose, photographe japonais basé à Addis-Abeba, se sont rendus dans la région de Gambela, à la pointe occidentale de l'Ethiopie, pour enquêter sur le phénomène de location de terres.

Scramble for Ethiopia’s Land

05 Jan 2012 | Le Monde
Rich soil, a tropical climate, and an abundance of water: the region of Gambela in the west of the country is fertile. Foreign investors are renting thousands of hectares of it to develop intensive agriculture without regard for the environment and the population, reports Le Monde.

Saudi company leases Ethiopian land for rice export

27 Dec 2011 | PRI
A Saudi Arabian company has leased tens of thousands of acres in western Ethiopia to grow rice for export. The Ethiopian government says it will help provide food security for its citizens, but some who live in the region, say they’re not seeing any benefits.

Spreading in Gambella: Investment, criticism, opportunity

11 Dec 2011 | Addis Fortune
Interest by both local and international companies to lease land has been met with criticism by some outside the region, yet locals are unperturbed.

Ethiopia: Saudi Star gets ex-State Minister as new chief

05 Dec 2011 |
Saudi Star Agricultural Development Plc, perhaps the biggest agro industry firm in Ethiopia, has added a big name to its roaster: Fikru Desalegn, former state minister for Capacity Building,

Karuturi's first maize crop effected by flash floods

03 Oct 2011 | Karuturi
The bursting of the river banks of Baro and Alwero has resulted in the submergence of the crop, adding a loss of hope for producing a sizeable maize crop by Karuturi.