Saudi Arabia and the UAE are worldwide leaders in buying farmland in third-party countries, followed by China and Japan, says the World Bank.
Los defensores del modelo de poner a producir las tierras desde los gobiernos, inversionistas o grandes corporaciones argumentan que se generan puestos de trabajo, que se hace rendir tierras ociosas y que se producen alimentos. Pero en ese análisis falta el principal elemento. La pobreza en el mundo reside en el campo, precisamente por modelos como éste.
Des pays en quête de ressources alimentaires et des groupes financiers séduits par les perspectives du marché mondial de l'agriculture acquièrent en masse des terres arables dans des pays le plus souvent pauvres ou émergents, un phénomène qui inquiète des ONG.
The global food and financial crises have combined to create a new form of colonialism in which countries short of resources and corporations desperate for profits are buying up arable land in emerging nations, NGOs say. The non-governmental organisations have expressed concern at this "global land grab," which they say is threatening the survival of rural livelihoods in some parts of the world.
Autre problème posé par l’exploitation des terres agricoles en Afrique par d’autres pays et par les multinationales étrangères : le droit à la propriété foncière. Dans plusieurs pays du continent, les législations autour de ce droit sont floues.
The initial welcome given to rich countries’ investment in African farmland by agricultural and development officials has faded as the first ventures prove to be heavily weighted in favour of the investors. The FAO warned of such a trend when it said this year that the race to secure farmland overseas risked creating a “neo-colonial” system.
La location de terres agricoles en Afrique de l’Est a été initiée par des fonds arabes du Golfe. Voilà que des hommes d’affaires égyptiens veulent produire du blé en Ouganda.
In the past week, the alleged claim by Egypt’s Agriculture minister Amin Abaza that Uganda offered his country over 2 million acres of fertile land to produce wheat to feed the Arab nation’s 81 million people has rattled Ugandans.
President Yoweri Museveni initiated talks with Egyptian officials over the possibility of growing wheat and corn for the north African state in Uganda but no firm offer of land was made, Egypt and State House sources have separately said.
The Uganda government had allocated to Egypt two million acres of land to grow wheat and corn this year, Egypt`s minister of Agriculture revealed. He asserted that the land was in a number of places. Two million acres is equivalent to 2.2% of Uganda`s total area.
Conséquence directe de la crise alimentaire mondiale et de la volatilité des cours, les projets d'achat ou de location de terres agricoles à grande échelle, parfois sur des centaines de milliers d'hectares, se multiplient.
Egypt has agreed to buy a million tonnes of wheat from Kazakhstan to meet local market needs, and Uganda has allocated farmland for the Arab country to grow wheat and corn, Egyptian state-owned media said on Saturday.
