US universities in Africa force farmers off their land

Harvard and other major American universities are working through British hedge funds and European financial speculators to buy or lease vast areas of African farmland in deals, some of which may force many thousands of people off their land, according to a new study.

Researchers say foreign investors are profiting from "land grabs" that often fail to deliver the promised benefits of jobs and economic development, and can lead to environmental and social problems in the poorest countries in the world. Common Dreams

HIGHLIGHTS

The new report on land acquisitions in seven African countries suggests that Harvard, Vanderbilt and many other U.S. colleges with large endowment funds have invested heavily in African land in the past few years. Phantom Report

Much of the money is said to be channeled through London-based Emergent asset management, which runs one of Africa's largest land acquisition funds, run by former JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs currency dealers. Phantom Report

Researchers at the California-based Oakland Institute think that Emergent's clients in the U.S. may have invested up to $500m in some of the most fertile land in the expectation of making 25% returns. Oakland Institute

The company that manages Harvard's investment funds declined to comment. "It is Harvard management company policy not to discuss investments or investment strategy and therefore I cannot confirm the report," said a spokesman. Vanderbilt also declined to comment. Mail & Guardian online

African Farmland being bought and sold for speculation destroys lives of innocent African farmers

In Tanzania, the memorandum of understanding between the local government and U.S.-based farm development corporation AgriSol Energy, which is working with Iowa University, stipulates that the two main locations - Katumba and Mishamo - for their project are refugee settlements holding as many as 162,000 people that will have to be closed before the $700m project can start. The refugees have been farming this land for 40 years. Free Internet Press

In Ethiopia, a process of "villagisation" by the government is moving tens of thousands of people from traditional lands into new centers while big land deals are being struck with international companies. US World News

The largest land deal in South Sudan, where as much as 9% of the land is said by Norwegian analysts to have been bought in the last few years, was negotiated between a Texas-based firm, Nile Trading and Development and a local co-operative run by absent chiefs. The 49-year lease of 400,000 hectares of central Equatoria for around $25,000 allows the company to exploit all natural resources including oil and timber. The company, headed by former U.S. Ambassador Howard Eugene Douglas, says it intends to apply for UN-backed carbon credits that could provide it with millions of pounds a year in revenues. OaklandInstitute.org

In Mozambique, where up to 7m hectares of land is potentially available for investors, western hedge funds are said in the report to be working with South Africans businesses to buy vast tracts of forest and farmland for investors in Europe and the U.S. The contracts show the government will waive taxes for up to 25 years, but few jobs will be created. Common Dreams
 
Research by the World Bank and others suggests that nearly 60m hectares - an area the size of France - has been bought or leased by foreign companies in Africa in the past three years. Guardian

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