UN meeting challenged on land grabs6 February 2013
Liberian NGOs have been exposing land grabs and human rights violations ahead of a global development summit.
More Africans are going hungry as companies swallow up their farms and forests - warned Friends of the Earth Liberia at a high level UN meeting. Political leaders from around the world - including David Cameron - were meeting to discuss new goals for development in Africa.
Palm oil companies are grabbing more than 1.5 million acres of land in Liberia. Local NGOs warn they're violating the human rights of local communities.
Sime Darby, one of the world's largest producers of palm oil, is developing plantations in Liberia. It's swallowing up farmlands and forests used by local communities to sustain their livelihoods.
Local communities are being affected
According to the Government 81% of the population in Liberia is either highly or moderately vulnerable to food insecurity.
Already a lot of the population is deprived of the Right to Food. The plantations are harming local food security even more by taking away the land people rely on.
...these plantations undermine Liberia's basic food security and cause poverty when livelihoods are lost
Silas Kpanan'Ayoung Siakor, Friends of the Earth Liberia campaigner
The demands
Affected communities and civil society are demanding that the Government renegotiate the contracts with Sime Darby.
They're also asking for a thorough reform programme for the farming sector. The reforms should include community rights to kick-start genuine development in Liberia. Friends of the Earth International is backing the demands of local NGOs.
© Friends of the Eath International
