Rural Modernity and its Discontents
Reflections on globalization, modernity and the 'civilized' African peasant
Whitestone sub-leasing 1.34 million acres in Sierra Leone
Since 2009, Whitestone (SL) Limited has managed to obtain 13 leasehold titles covering a staggering 1.34 million acres of land in the Bombali and Koinadugu Districts of Northern Sierra Leone … Continue reading
ILC response to critique
While the ILC refrained from responding to my e-mail, I was surprised to see a public response to my blog post by the ILC Secretariat on the GRAIN blog, farmlandgrab.org … Continue reading
Land Matrix: Ethiopia data UPDATE
I decided to give the Ethiopia entries a thorough run-through and compare with the official dataset. (Note: all pre-implementation projects in Ethiopia are defined as those that have obtained an … Continue reading
The facts about ZTE in DR Congo
With publication of the Land Matrix by ILC and partners, the inaccurate claims of a 2.8 million ha land deal between China’s ZTE International and the Government of DR Congo … Continue reading
The Land Matrix: Much ado about nothing
The International Land Coalition (ILC), in collaboration with prominent international developmental organizations such as the GIZ and CIRAD, recently launched its much-awaited global dataset of land deals, the Land Matrix. … Continue reading
Forget corporate responsibility, institutions matter!
Corporate capitalists – evil, greedy monsters devouring voiceless African peasants in the name of profit. While the anti-war, anti-consumerism, anti-capitalism, anti-globalisation social movements have becoming increasingly mainstream and the everyday Western … Continue reading
Wilmar acquires land in Nigeria
The rush for land for oil palm cultivation in the Congo Basin and coastal West Africa continues unabashed. Wilmar, one of Asia’s largest agribusinesses has expanded its African oil palm … Continue reading
China in Africa: Rethinking the cliche
Of course, since China’s ‘going out’ policy, its rapidly growing presence in Africa is undeniable. Flying recently from Lubumbashi, a major copper mining city in the DR Congo, little else … Continue reading
Karuturi: Why the hype?
The Bangalore-based agribusiness, Karuturi Global, is arguably the most discussed and criticized agricultural investment in Africa. In 2009, its outspoken Director, Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, announced with much fanfare the allocation of 300,000 … Continue reading
