Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 34
The Twenty-first
Century Agricultural
Land Rush
Gregory Thaler
Introduction
InMaliinlate2010,the2,000inhabitantsofthefarmingvillageofSoumounilearnedthat
theirlandhadbeensoldtoLibya.heirhouseswouldbeleveledandtheywouldallhave
to leave. The rice, beef, and other agricultural products grown on their land would be
shippedbacktoLibyatofeedLibyans.Acrossthe100,000hectaresleasedbytheLibyans,
perhaps20,000farmerswouldbeafected,andthosewhoprotestedsaidtheyhadbeen
beatenandjailed,buttheywere“readytodietokeeptheirland”(MacFarquhar2010).
Severalmonthslater,thefateoftheLibyanprojectseemeduncertainasLibyasuccumbed
tothewaveofunrestsweepingacrosstheArabworld—unrestthatmanyhaveattributed
atleastinparttorisingglobalfoodprices(Cha2011,ArezkiandBruckner2011).
Twoyearsearlier,inNovember2008,theSouthKoreancompanyDaewooLogistics
announcedthatithadnegotiateda99-yearleasefor3.2 millionhectaresoffarmland
inMadagascar,orabouthalfofallthecountry'sarableland.Daewooplannedtouse
three-quartersofthelandtogrowcorninaneforttoreducebyhalfSouthKorea'sreli-
ance on corn imports from the United States and South America. The other quarter of
the land would be used for palm oil production for biofuel. News of the deal sparked
protests in Madagascar and inlamed sentiment against Malagasy president Marc
Ravalomanana,whoincidentallyisalsotheownerofTiko,Madagascar'slargestfood
conglomerate. Popular anger over the deal helped solidify support for Antananarivo
mayorAndryRajoelina,whoinMarch2009succeededintopplingRavalomananaand
seizingpowerinacoup.OneofRajoelina'sirstactsoncomingtopowerwastocancel
the Daewoo land deal, underlining the critical role the deal had played in bringing down
Ravalomanana'sgovernment(Walt2008;BBC2009;Keesing'sWorldwide2009).
Food prices spur riots and topple regimes in North Africa, while land deals invite
revolt in Mali and Madagascar. The global food system is teetering; its attempts at
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