Foreign investors aren't just after land in Africa. Access to water is essential – which can bring them into direct competition with the needs of local communities. An alarming number of African governments seem to be signing away water rights for decades, with major implications for local communities.

The role water plays in fuelling the global rush for land is very important, often missed.

Read more … Water & Land grabbing are linked

The adoption of the international guidelines to regulate the so-called "land grab” has been postponed until next year (first 3 months). It was previously expected at the 37th session of the new Commission for Food Security (CFS) at FAO in October.

The negotiators agreed on the text in general, but this is so complicate and sensitive issue, that they need more time to agree on terms of investment property on a large scale and of the application. The text agreed generally meets the baseline benchmarks regarding recognition of hunger/poverty eradication.

Read more … LAND - Voluntary Guideline still to be adopted

November 17- 19, 2011 : women and men peasants, pastoralists, indigenous peoples and their allies gathered together in Nyeleni. Their aim is to defend food sovereignty, the commons and the rights of small scale food providers to natural resources. To read the Final Declaration: Stop Land-Grabbing Now!

Read more … Nyeleni : Stop Land Grabbing Now !

Table of social and economical impacts of some cases of EU companies involved in large piece of land acquisition for biofuels investment in African countries (March 2011)

Read more … Impacts of some EU companies involved in large piece of land acquisition for biofuels investment in African countries

Read more … List of African countries where EU Biofuels companies invest

Read more … List of EU Biofuels companies investing in Africa

Read more … List of countries business investing in Africa

What have the biblical tradition, social ethics and human rights to say about land? by W. Schonecke, AEFJN-Germany

Read more … Land - Religious and ethical dimensions

April 13, 2011 - Current UK and European policies on biofuels encourage unethical practices, says a report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics following an 18-month inquiry

Read more … BIOFUELS - unethical policy

 The IAASTD report is the result of 6 years of consultations of research issued by by a unique stakeholder group made of representatives from International Development Agencies, Governments, Civil Society, policy makers, scientists and the private sector from around the world.

The key questions that had been defined at eleven stakeholder meetings around the world, and which the reports were to address were “how can agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology (AKSTs) be improved to reduce hunger and poverty, improve health and nutrition, assure rural livelihoods and reduce inequities while protecting the  environment”.

For the executive summary and the links to documents :

Read more … The IAASTD Reports: A holistic approach to food and nutrition security

The current famine in the Horn of Africa is not only the result of drought, civil war and corrupt officials, but is also caused by prohibitively high food prices. This article explains how the deregulation of agricultural markets and the proliferation of investors led people by millions to hunger and below the poverty line.

Read more … Speculating with lives: How global investors make money out of hunger

 In January, the world food prices reached the highest record since 1990 and this difficult situation will be even more so in the future. Higher food prices affect poor households more. There must be a set of alternatives put into play for solution, but mostly, food products should remain outside the speculative markets.

Read more … Global food prices soar, attract speculators

Participants of various social movements, faith-based groups, etc gathered in the assembly of convergence adopted a common declaration.

Read more … WSF 2011 - Dakar Appeal against the land grab

Dec 2010 - The management of water is a crucial question both locally and internationally.

1. The Nile Agreement: what is the stake ?

2.  Does the UN’s recognition of the right to water change anything ?

According to some statistics in 25 years’ time, nearly one African in two will be living in a country faced with water penury or stress because of the rapidity of population growth, economic development and climate change.

Read more … Water, source of life or conflict ?

Some cases of EU companies involved in large piece of land for biofuels investment in African countries

To read the table:

Read more … Land in Africa for EU biofuels

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Read more … The war over the waters of the Nile

Read more … Does the UN’s recognition of the right to water change anything ?

Nov 2010 - The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UN) made a Statement on the Right to Sanitation at the Forty-fifth session in  Geneva. E/C.12/45/CRP.1

Read more … WATER - Statement on the Right to Sanitation by UN CESCR

On mid-2009, François Houtart has launched a campaign for the Universal Declaration on the Common Well-Being Of Humanity by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The goals are to raise debate on common versus private good concerning natural and cultural resources, the taking into account the ecological ‘externalities' in economic calculations and also to articulate alternative solutions.

Read more … Universal Declaration on the Common Well-Being Of Humanity

September 24, 2010  The right to water and sanitation is legally recognized in international conventions on human rights.

Read more … Water legally in international conventions on human rights

... an essential human right recognized by the United Nations July 26, 2010
One more tool in our struggle for justice for water: The UN declares that the right to safe drinking water and clean is a ...

Read more … Water

The seeds are the basis of many food crops. The access to quality seeds, well adapted to local conditions, at affordable price and the protection of biodiversity are two crucial points for farmers. But they are largerly threatened ...

Read more … Seeds & Farmers' Rights

What to think about GMO (Genetically modified Organism) ?

Read more … GMO

Food sovereignty is a concept brought to public discussion by Via Campesina as an alternative proposal to neo-liberal policies. Since then, this concept has become a major topic in the debates of agricultural and commercial policy at international level, including in certain departments of the United Nations.
Wanting to underline the necessary background to fill the right to food,

Read more … Food Sovereignty & Rigth to Food

From the point of view, some people call this fact: ‘Land grab’, ‘Land acquisition’ or ‘trade pressure on land’. This trend is not new, BUT the rate of negotiations and the amount of spaces concerned have become higher than in the past.

Is it profitable for people?

Read more … Land acquisition : what happens in Africa?

African Bishops take position on Land, Water and social justice for eradication of poverty.

Read more … LAND: African Bishops take position

EU has become the world’s largest net importer of agricultural produce, and therefore the largest user of agricultural land that is not its own.

The OPERA report ...

Read more … Does EU policy increase land grab outside Europe?

The Convention has expressed his concerns on the recently emerged ever-increasing proportions of sale of agricultural land to foreign and national private companies,  individuals and elite. It also recommended to the Board of ROPPA to accelerate the development of a monitoring and alerting system to provide ...

Read more … 100507 ROPPA - monitoring the land grabbing

Mr O. DE SCHUTTER (UN  Special Rapporteur on the Rigth to Food) had edited a Briefing Note in May named: "Countries tackling hunger with a right to food approach"

This briefing note highlights the implementation of the right to food at national scale in Africa (Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa), Latin America and South Asia.

The right to food is the right, for all, to have legal frameworks and strategies in place that further the realization of the right to adequate food, as a human right recognized under international law.

Read more … Right to food in national law

AGRA (Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa) is an organisation which enables private multinationals to penetrate Africa so that they can expand their markets in seeds and other agricultural products focused on products for which donors to AGRA have the monopoly  right .

AGRA does not finance the improvement of local agricultural commerce nor the promulgation of African farming techniques that have proved effective.

Read more … AGRA What is it?

2009 is the year of the global awareness of the limits of the liberalisation.

As some people realized that the earth cannot support more use of resources at a such level as in the rich countries, many other people have been reinforced in their conviction that “business as usual” cannot be a way of development. The multiple crises confirmed them that capitalism, with its exacerbated aspect of liberalization, drives obviously exclusion and profits to a small part of humanity … for a limited period.

Read more … 2009 – The signs of the year

Read more … SunBiofuels

Read more … Bolloré

Read more … Total, Suez