Land Grab in Africa

In what The Guardian calls "the greatest change of ownership since the colonial era," enormous swaths of African land is being sold to foreign countries seeking agricultural lands to feed their growing populations.

1 minute read

March 12, 2010, 1:00 PM PST

By Tim Halbur


An investigation estimates that up to 50m hectares of land is either changed hands or is in the process of being sold over just the past few years.

John Vidal writes, "Leading the rush are international agribusinesses, investment banks, hedge funds, commodity traders, sovereign wealth funds as well as UK pension funds, foundations and individuals attracted by some of the world's cheapest land.

Together they are scouring Sudan, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Congo, Zambia, Uganda, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Mali, Sierra Leone, Ghana and elsewhere."

Friday, March 12, 2010 in The Guardian U.K.

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