Written by Neale Young

In the 19^th and early 20^th century, many Western European nations wrestled over the continent of Africa. Each nation sought to accumulate as much land, resources and wealth as was possible; a time known as ‘The Scramble for Africa’. This scramble came with the dehumanisation, dislocation and annihilation of much of the indigenous peoples, surely a process that would be seen as totally unethical and unacceptable in modern Western society. These colonised African nations have since been emancipated from their European conquerors. However, the grip of Western nations has never left.

In recent times, through globalisation and the influence of the Western corporate capitalist system, vast swards of African land are now being bought up or leased by whole nations and large agribusiness corporations; taking advantage of weak economies in desperate need of revenue. These companies seek to clear and farm the land on a huge, mechanised scale, obtaining high productivity of food and non-food crops to be put on sale to the highest bidder on the global market. This is known as ‘Land Grabbing’.

An example is that of Karuturi Global, an international agribusiness group now well established in the western Gambella region of Ethiopia. This group was able to secure a massive 300,000 hectares in the region, with prices as low as $1.19 per hectare per year, with the primary crop being roses. Groups such as this can bypass local councils for permission to develop the land and dislocate the local pastoralist population; taking away their way of life and offering as little as $0.73 per day for labour, well below the poverty line. This is but an example of the mode of operation for these corporations and the amount of land being accumulated is rising year on year.

There is also a whole plethora of environmental concerns that lie at the heart of these land grabs at both a local and global level. Whether it is the mass deforestation and conversion of virgin tropical forest for the production of Palm Oil, generally seen as a ‘green’ oil alternative, or the bulldozing of grassland habitat for rice and wheat production; natural and semi-natural habitat is at a great loss through this large scale agricultural exploitation. This works to reduce the local and global biodiversity through the removal of individuals, populations or entire species of plants and animals.

The soil and water resources are also exploited and damaged by these land grabs, with irrigation, fertiliser and pesticide/herbicide schemes being operated at levels far more ecologically damaging than would be accepted in many Western nations. Entire lakes in Africa are turning bright green from the dense algal blooms spurred on by fertiliser pollution, choking out the natural inhabitants and leading to eutrophication.

The environmental damage caused by these land grabs may also have environmental implications for those in the Western world. As concerns over global warming increase worldwide, a premium is being placed by many on the protection of remaining carbon sinks, such as rainforest and peat land.  However, the clearing and agricultural exploitation of African forest and grass habitats will lead to reduced carbon sinks and further contributions to carbon emissions to the atmosphere.

The extra crop produce on the global market and corporate profit gained from these land grab schemes come with the cost of a great ethical and environmental dilemma. We need to examine the ethics behind the food we consume. Would we be comfortable with its origins, processing, or the ways in which the environment or workers are treated?

One must remember that literally MILLIONS of African people die of starvation each year, from exploitation and poverty. It is not that there is no food in which to feed these starving people, but more often that the food is there, but the people have little access due to poverty. As a society, we are constantly aware and sensitive to other great human atrocities, such as the Holocaust, and rightly so. However, we must not remain ignorant to a present day human atrocity that is being perturbed by processes endorsed by our very own society. We must admit;

‘That was back then, times were different. But we still don’t know better.’

About the Author:

Originally from Ireland, Neale Young is currently residing in Toronto, Canada. He studied Environmental Science at Ireland's top university; Trinity College Dublin.

Image courtesy of Creative Commons.

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