African impact of land grabbing for biofuels25 October 2010
The rush to acquire land for biofuels is having a shocking impact on people in rural Africa. It's also damaging natural resources and boosting greenhouse gas emissions.
Kenneth Richter, Biofuels Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, saw the damage in a recent visit to Ghana.
Across Africa foreign companies are grabbing land to grow biofuel crops, mainly for transport.
In Ghana spreading cultivation of jatropha is pushing farmers off their land. It also replaces valuable food sources like shea nut and dawadawa trees.
Local people described how easily foreign companies take control of land. "Communities have been living on this land for years, but they have no contract," explains Kenneth.
It's easy for foreign companies to go in and evict people.
Kenneth Richter
Land grabbing
One community told of violent evictions and workers using their cars to run over animals.
Boya Fataa has farmed for 25 years and was evicted from his land without warning. "This is the only source of my income and my family's livelihood," he says.
All my farm produce was destroyed and my animals were killed.
Boya Fataa
At a plantation in the Volta delta, Kenneth learned that a European company that promised to create jobs and schools had disappeared. It left behind local people without jobs and an abandoned jatropha plantation.
The remaining jatropha bushes are hard to remove because of their deep roots. This makes it impossible to use the land for food crops.
But some people are resisting the advance of biofuels. One community found out about the impact of foreign land grabs and rejected a company's offer.
Friends of the Earth has been linking with groups across Africa to devise strategies to counter land grabbing.
Did you know?
5 million hectares of land, an area the size of Denmark, has been acquired by European companies for biofuels in 11 African countries.
Scale of the problem
In a recent report, Friends of the Earth described how demand for land for biofuels is destroying habitats in Africa. It also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and drains water from areas already hit by drought.
And the problem could get worse. The EU has a target of almost 10% of transport fuels from biofuels by 2020.
Friends of the Earth believes political targets that drive up demand for biofuels should be scrapped. We also support the suspension of land grabs and biofuel investments by African states.
Cutting emissions
We think the Government should focus on other ways of cutting transport emissions rather than pouring taxpayers' cash into supporting biofuels.
Friends of the Earth supports tougher fuel-efficiency standards for new cars. We're calling for real alternatives to motoring, such as better provision for public transport, cycling and walking.
Read the report Africa: Up for Grabs.
Please write to Chris Huhne and ask him to stop subsidies for unsustainable biofuels like palm oil and jatropha.
© Friends of the Earth
