Why Poverty? | December 2012

In 2008, the world’s food system began to fall apart. Threatened with hunger, rich countries started buying up land in the developing world and transforming agriculture.

In Mali, 75% of the population are farmers, but rich, land-hungry nations like China and Saudi Arabia are leasing Mali's land in order to turn large areas into agribusiness farms. Many Malian peasants do not welcome these efforts, seeing them as yet another manifestation of imperialism. As Mali experiences a military coup, the developers are scared off. But can Mali's farmers combat food shortages and escape poverty on their own terms?

Directed by: Hugo Berkeley & Osvalde Lewat
Produced by: Eli Cane
Production company: Normal Life Pictures