The end of 'Land Grab?'

06 September 2010

Friends of the Earth have predicated an increase in food shortages in Africa as a result of an European Union target to produce 10% of all transport fuels from biofuels by 2020. The charity is pushing for an end to so- called “Land Grab” in order to ensure land is not seized by big European companies in order to grow biofuel crops.

The charity argues that the European Union (EU) must drop this policy as the effects are going to be positively detrimental. Food shortages will be severe as African nations are steamrolled into growing crops that are not only inedible but also cause large tracts of fertile farmland that could be utilised for edible crops. Hence the fear of food shortages along with rising prices in regard to the purchase of food becoming a real concern. Friends of the Earth goes on to argue that large tracts of forest are being cleared in order to accommodate the new crops and that communities are not being consulted in regard to the effects this might have on them. The NGO has produced a report ‘Africa: up for grabs’ the report states that the only way in which this issue can be addressed is if the EU halts its proposal and in so doing encourages member states to drop their goal of producing 10% of all biofuels by 2020.

Biofuel producers have argued however that they typically farm land that is not suitable or destined to be used for food crops and therefore can be used without any question for their intended purpose. Biofuel companies are also arguing that they consult local governments, bring investment and jobs and often produce fuel for the local market. All very useful but if communities are starving how are they a) supposed to work? And b) drive a car?

ActionAid further counters these claims by adding to the debate set out by Friends of the Earth. They state that the European Biofuel targets could result in up to 100 million people suffering from hunger. The increases in food prices and landlessness will only add to their daily burdens as they will inevitably struggle to not only make ends meet but source food. The recent natural disasters such as the floods in Pakistan and the recent heat wave in Russia have had a detrimental effect on the price of foodstuffs as crops are wiped out.

Estimates of how much land is taken up and farmed by foreign companies and governments’ for fuel crops varies significantly. The aforementioned Friends of the Earth report focuses primarily on 11 African countries in what it sees as a rush to farm there. It also states that around 40 foreign owned companies including some from the UK have invested in such developments.

"The amount of land being taken in Africa to meet Europe's increasing demand for biofuels is underestimated and out of control," Kirtana Chandrasekaran, food campaigner for FoE in the UK, said. "Especially in Africa, as long as there's massive demand for biofuels from the European market, it will be hard to control. If we implement the biofuels targets it will only get worse. This is just a small taste of what's to come.”

However some companies including British company Sun Biofuels which is mentioned in the report and is currently farming land in Mozambique and Tanzania, criticises Friends of the Earth and its findings. They state that the evidence given is both “emotional and anecdotal”.

On the other hand no getting away from the facts. This IS an emotive subject. - It concerns people. The way in which the western world thrusts its solutions of overconsumption upon populations who find it hard to grapple with such a concept is perhaps irresponsible maybe even cruel. It is not the idea of investment that is wrong it is the idea of exploiting something that the host nations are not going to benefit from entirely – that is wrong. Whilst western world populations zoom down the road in their super duper environmentally friendly biofueled mode of transport are they really going to think about the plight of the poor African? Probably not.

Nevertheless it is important to stress that what is really wrong is that although people may feel they are saving the environment from irreversible damage by buying this fuel from these particular companies, they are also causing huge problems that will take a lot longer to fix - famine and hunger. Arguably there needs to be a solution to this problem or otherwise these African populations will end up sacrificing something much greater than just their land – their lives.