Liberia land deals with foreign firms 'could sow seeds of conflict'
- Guardian
- 05 Mar 2012
Small farmers lose livelihoods as 'controversial' palm-oil producing multinational moves in, report says
Small farmers lose livelihoods as 'controversial' palm-oil producing multinational moves in, report says
Alfred Quayjandi accuses both the Liberian government and Sime Darby of presenting a confused and angry population with a fait accompli, failing to consult local communities and bypassing or snubbing the local administration and traditional chiefs.
Des centaines de villageois et d'habitants des villes du comté de Grand Cape Mount ont attiré l'attention de toute la population libérienne afin de récupérer des terres qu'ils considèrent comme leur appartenant, mais qui ont été saisies et cédées à un groupe agro-industriel malaisien.
Hundreds of villagers and town residents of Liberia’s Grand Cape Mount Country have attracted nationwide attention in their bid to recover what they say is land seized from them and turned over to a Malaysian agro-industrial concern.
Communities without economic power that live off of land to which they do not “own” are devastated when their government transfers the property rights to wealthy outside interests, who exploit the natural resources.
New studies released in London today suggest that the frenzied sell-off of forests and other prime lands to buyers hungry for the developing world's natural resources risk sparking widespread civil unrest—unless national leaders and investors recognize the customary rights of millions of poor people who have lived on and worked these lands for centuries.
En parallèle, SIFCA, actionnaire majoritaire de SIPH, a obtenu une concession pour développer des plantations d'huile de palme sur une superficie de 15 200 ha dans les mêmes comtés
Liberia is one of the top 5 countries in the world whose farmland are under the control of foreign concessionaires, according to a report made by Grain, a non-governmental organization supporting small farms.
Le gouvernement du Libéria a reconnu que des fraudes et des erreurs répétées ont été commises lors de la négociation de la concession « Sime Darby », dans les Comtés de Bomi et Grand Cape Mount.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf admits of errors in contract but calls on Liberians to respect the agreement and accuses NGOs of creating problems because they want funding from their partners.
Right now, on the desks of Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) there is the background material for an application of credit guarantee for an 8000 ha sugar plantation and a refinery in Bagamoyo, Tanzania.
Nous venons d’être informé par voie de presse que le projet de raffinerie d’huile de palme de Sime Darby à Port La Nouvelle était retardé
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