The women of the Odo-Oro community in Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State protested over the alleged destruction of their farmlands by an agriculture firm, Agbeyewa Farms. “They are destroying our lands, they are cutting down our cocoa farms, cutting down our palm trees and destroying what is left of what our forefathers gave to us."
Six communities in Maconteh Chiefdom, Port Loko District, including Rogbessh, Faidugu, Rokama, Robat, and Kirima have staged a peaceful protest against agroforestry company Rewinding BKM for failing to pay 2024 land lease fees.
The tech behemoth is betting that planting millions of eucalyptus trees in Brazil will be the path to a greener future. Some ecologists and local residents are far less sure.
Farmers in Uzbekistan say the government is forcing them to surrender land to Chinese businesses under the guise of state-backed development, taking thousands of hectares of fertile cotton and wheat fields out of the hands of locals.
The bigger question—one Tasmania must answer soon—is how much of its food-bowl can be outsourced to balance sheets before community cohesion snaps.
Agricultural ventures feature prominently, with Shandong Jialejia Agriculture committing Sh3.9 billion to a 500,000-hen egg farm in Kajiado, Zonken Group investing Sh41.6 billion in a 300-acre aloe vera processing plant in Baringo and Sh10.4 billion for a 72-acre grape vineyard.
Under the guise of ‘conflict mediation’ and community empowerment, the work of certain corporate NGOs results in communities continuing without access to and control over their lands, and in strengthening destructive production models.
The Schmidt Agricola family business is planning a 10,000-hectare cocoa farm in the Brazilian state of Bahia, where similar super-sized cocoa farms are also under development in partnership with large cocoa companies like Cargill and Barry Callebaut.
Plantations et Huileries du Congo, the DRC’s leading palm oil producer, plans to exponentially increase its palm oil production, but this strategy could exacerbate land conflicts.
In Europe, the appropriation of agricultural land by other actors, such as investors and supermarkets, raises concerns by driving up prices and reducing access for future farmers, as well as threatening food security and the sustainability of the EU.
Bloomberg's Big Take podcast looks at an investigation into allegations of sexual coercion at plantations run by Socfin, a rubber company supplying top tiremakers.
Hubert Fabri and Vincent Bolloré own plantations accused of land appropriation and labor abuses. Their company says it has taken steps to improve matters, but a trip to West Africa shows sexual coercion claims remain widespread.
