Afrikas fattigste lande er hårdest ramt af, hvad der betegnes som udsalg af deres dyrkbare jord til private ofte udenlandske investorer, skriver nyhedstjenesten epo.de i sit nyhedsbrev mandag.
Det viser den første online databank om begrebet “landgrabbing” (jordtyveri), som blev gjort tilgængelig for offentligheden på en konference om ejerskab til jord, der blev holdt i Verdensbankens regi i Washington.
Den nye “jord-matrix” er den første systematiske oversigt over flere end 1.217 internationale afhændelser af jordarealer på over 200 hektar i de forløbne ti år.
Den store britiske NGO, Oxfam, støtter den nye matrix i samarbejde med flere tyske udviklingsorganisationer.
“Med nogle få klik på nettet giver den nye jord-matrix svar på påtrængende spørgsmål som: Hvem investerer hvor og hvorfor? Hvilke tendenser kan vi konstatere”, oplyser professor Jann Lay fra den tyske NGO, GIGA, i en pressemeddelelse.
“Manglende gennemskuelighed er en voldsom spærrebom for større ansvarlighed og mere kvalificerede beslutninger om jordeje og investeringer i denne kostbare råvare for mange afrikanere. Jord-matrixen er et signifikant skridt mod flere informationer og en mere åben debat om dette fænomen”, føjer Madiodio Niasse, sekretariatsleder i “International Land Coalition”, til.
Rige investorer overfor fattige småbønder
Ifølge GIGA viser de indsamlede data, at næsten halvdelen af den handlede jord allerede blev benyttet til agerbrug af lokale bønder. Det indebærer, at rige investorer står overfor fattige småbønder.
Den nye matrix blotlægger især mange store (regerings-tilskyndede) jordhandler i Etiopien, Sudan, Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar, Zambia og DR Congo.
“Netop disse lande står ofte i sultproblemer til halsen. Mange jordhandler drejer sig om arealer, hvorfra den lokale befolkning henter sit udkomme og skaffer sig mad på bordet, anfører Frank Braßel, der er vicekampagneleder i Oxfam Deutschland.
“Ikke engang en procent af afgrøderne fra disse arealer havner nu til salg på lokale markeder, de er helt overvejende bestemt for eksport”, lægger han til.
83 millioner hektar siden 2000
Ifølge jord-matrixen har internationale investorer tilegnet sig 83 millioner hektar siden 2000. For det meste uden seriøse konsultationer med de hidtidige ejere eller brugere (ved fællesjord).
Jordopkøb og jordforpagtning – det sidste ofte over lange åremål -, foretages især af investorer fra Kina, Saudi-Arabien, Europa og USA. I dag anses henved fem procent af al dyrkbar jord i Afrika ramt af “jordtyveri”.
Oxfam betegner “land grabbing” som investering i forpagtning (langtidsleje) eller køb af jord, hvor investorerne ignorerer de lokale beboeres rettigheder og trang på den jord, hvorpå de arbejder og lever.
“Største jordtyveri siden kolonitiden”
Oxfam er også nået frem til, at investorernes store plantager, ofte med monokulturer, har hævet vandforbruget voldsomt.
“Jord og vand er grundlæggende elementer, når det gælder menneskelig ernæring. Det er unfair, at hensynet til rige stater og internationale foretagender tæller mere end de fattige; at disse aktører kan sætte sig på ryggen af Afrikas fattige mennesker”, siger Frank Braßel fra Oxfam Deutschland.
“Det er det største jordtyveri siden kolonitiden, og det må stoppes med bindende internationale regelsæt”, gør han gældende.
Se det hele på www.landportal.info/landmatrix
Se også telegrammet
http://www.u-landsnyt.dk/nyhed/28-04-12/malawi-uden-sk-de-p-jorden-bliver-sm-b-nderne-smid
———————-
Her uddrag af pressemeddelelsen fra “landportal”
New data on large-scale land deals -not a “bubble”
A new report and website provide important insight into the complex, global phenomenon of large-scale acquisition of land. They confirm this is a lasting trend and not a mere “bubble”. While the rush for land may have peaked in 2009, it continues.
Analysis of international land investments for agriculture through over one thousand deals since 2000 suggests that they are geographically concentrated –just 11 countries, many in East Africa and Southeast Asia, account for 70 per cent of the total land area acquired in these deals.
Close examination also reveals that almost half of land in question is already being used for crops, implying competition between investors and small-scale farmers.
“Land acquisition does often take place in areas with considerable population density, not so-called ‘idle land’” Says Markus Giger from the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) at the University of Bern.
Land Matrix
The report “Transnational Land Deals for Agriculture in the Global South” draws on data now made accessible in a new online interface called the Land Matrix.
The website will provide unprecedented access to verified data on land deals, allowing people to explore and visualize trends from the global level down to individual deals.
The report and website were launched by the Land Matrix partnership (CDE, CIRAD, GIGA, GIZ, and ILC) during the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty.
The launch of the Land Matrix will encourage researchers, governments, companies to provide more data on land acquisitions.
Alle kan involvere sig
Even citizens can get involved: the innovative interface is designed for the public to crowdsource new information, and also improve the database’s quality and reliability. The website is intended to provide a facility for observing trends on land and investment on an ongoing basis.
The Land Matrix will periodically publish an analytical report, with this first one of the series focusing specifically on transnational agriculture deals in low and middle income countries of Global South and Eastern Europe.
The report contains information on investors, the drivers for these deals, and their impacts.
The main investor countries are classified into three groups: emerging economies, Gulf states, and Europe and North America. Evidence of increasing south-south investment and intraregionalism is another major finding.
The report -which supplements the Land Matrix site -explains the facts and figures in more depth and gives vivid examples. Furthermore, it provides extensive background knowledge on the processes behind the deals.
But as Ward Anseeuw of CIRAD and the University of Pretoria reminds, “There is a need to distinguish different forms of investment in land from land grabs; many areas are in dire need of agricultural investment.”
Investments examined by the Land Matrix, entail a transfer of rights to use, control or own land through sale, lease or concession; that cover 200 hectares (ha) or larger.
Yderligere oplysninger hos:
CIRAD (Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement) is a French research centre working with developing countries to tackle international agricultural and development issues.
Ward Anseeuw CIRAD Researcher University of Pretoria email: [email protected]; Tel: +270 12 420 5022
CDE (Centre for Development and Environment) is the University of Bern’s centre for sustainable development research. It was founded with the aim of fostering sustainable development-oriented research across various institutes and departments of the University of Bern.
Peter Messerli -Director University of Bern Centre for Development and Environment (CDE)
email: [email protected]; Tel. +41 (0)31 631 88 22 / 30 60
GIGA (German Institute for Global and Area Studies) is a Hamburg-based research institute focused on political, economic and social developments in Africa, Asia, Latin America, North Africa, and the Middle East.
Jann Lay -University of Goettingen and GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies -Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS), email: [email protected]; Tel. +49-(0)40-42825-763
GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) is an international enterprise owned by the German Federal Government target international cooperation services for sustainable development across more than 130 countries.
Antti Seelaff -Sector Project “Land Policy and Land Management” Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Email: [email protected]; Tel + 49-(0)6196-793374
ILC (International Land Coalition) is global alliance of civil society and intergovernmental organisations working together to promote secure and equitable access to and control over land for poor women and men through advocacy, dialogue, knowledge sharing and capacity building.
Michael Taylor – Programme Manager, Global Policy and Africa International Land Coalition Secretariat at IFAD, email: [email protected]; Tel: +39 065459 2267
