Last update:
2016-03-08

Land Grabbing by Farm Land of Guinea, Inc. in Faranah Region, Guinea

Land grabbing by US companies for export products and land use change in West Africa; a deadly cocktail for Ebola disease spread, inequality, and social injustices



Description:

Farm Lands of Guinea (FLG) is a company based in Gibraltar and registered in the British Virgin Islands. On September 16, 2010, with a military junta in control of the Government of Guinea, FLG signed two deals with Guineas Ministry of Agriculture for 99-year lease rights to more than 100,000 ha of agricultural land, where it intends to grow maize and soybeans. Under a subsequent protocol, signed while the junta was still in power, FLG agreed to survey and map roughly 1.5 million ha and to 'prepare it for third-party development under 99-year leases'. FLG maintains that in return the Ministry of Agriculture gave it exclusive marketing rights over the lands 'with a commission of 15% being payable on closed sales'. In November 2011, London -based Craven House Capital, formerly AIM Investments, bought US$1,000,000-worth of FLG common shares. In July of 2012 FLG purchased the Indian company Buddhabarapu and its existing 220,000 ha of land under a Protocal d'Accord from the Government of Guinea, which leases the land from community owners for periods of 50 years. This land will be developed for rice, eucalyptus, and palm oil for export.

Basic Data
Name of conflict:Land Grabbing by Farm Land of Guinea, Inc. in Faranah Region, Guinea
Country:Guinea
State or province:Faranah Region
Location of conflict:N†™Dema, Konindou, Saraya
Accuracy of locationHIGH (Local level)
Source of Conflict
Type of conflict. 1st level:Biomass and Land Conflicts (Forests, Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Management)
Type of conflict. 2nd level:Intensive food production (monoculture and livestock)
GMOs
Land acquisition conflicts
Specific commodities:Corn/Maize
Soybeans
Pulses
Eucalyptus
Palm oil
Cotton
Rice
Land
Project Details and Actors
Project details

5,340 ha in N'Dema and 3,475 ha in Konindou are the pilot project for 98,400 ha in Saraya to be developed into monoculture plantations with manufacturing plants on-site. Expected yield is 4 tons of soybeans per ha, with 48% GMO soy. The project is through Land & Resources (Guinea) SA, a Guinea-registered subsidiary of Farm Lands of Africa, is 10% owned by the Guinea government and is not subject to income taxes in Guinea. Rice cultivation on former Buddhabarapu land has started on 400 ha, with 8 test varietals of rice imported from India.

Project area:106 415
Level of Investment for the conflictive project5,000,000
Type of populationRural
Company names or state enterprises:Farm Lands of Africa
Land & Resources of Guinea SA
Craven House
Craven House Capital
Relevant government actors:Guinea Ministry of Agriculture
International and Finance InstitutionsNational Agriculture Bank of Guinea from Papua New Guinea
African Development Bank (AfDB)
Conflict & Mobilization
IntensityLATENT (no visible organising at the moment)
Reaction stageLATENT (no visible resistance)
Groups mobilizing:International ejos
Forms of mobilization:Creation of alternative reports/knowledge
Involvement of national and international NGOs
Impacts
Environmental ImpactsVisible: Food insecurity (crop damage), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Soil contamination, Soil erosion, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Groundwater pollution or depletion
Health ImpactsVisible: Infectious diseases
Other Health impactsThe area under farming concession was the epicenter of an Ebola spread (https://noticiasdeabajo.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/ebola-neoliberal-los-origenes-agroeconomicos-del-brote-de-ebola/)
Socio-economical ImpactsVisible: Displacement, Increase in violence and crime, Loss of livelihood, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Specific impacts on women, Land dispossession, Loss of landscape/sense of place
Outcome
Project StatusProposed (exploration phase)
Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?:No
Briefly explain:Details of the project are unclear, but it appears to be moving forward unhindered.
Sources & Materials
References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries

Oakland Institute, 2012, "Betting On World Agriculture" (p20)
[click to view]

PRweb.com - Farm Lands of Africa Announces Execution of an Agreement for the Acquisition of Buddhavarapu Farms SA
[click to view]

The Ecologist | 27 July 2015 - Neoliberal Ebola: palm oil, logging, land grabs, ecological havoc and disease
[click to view]

Farm Lands of Africa - slide presentation of the company
[click to view]

Farmlandgrab.org - Farm Lands of Guinea invited to evaluate replicating its agricultural restoration model in neighboring West African countries
[click to view]

Farmlandgrab.org - Farm Lands of Guinea, Inc. finalise un placement privé d’un million de dollars US avec un investisseur stratégique
[click to view]

Other comments:In February 2011 FLA acquired Kryptic Entertainment of Nevada, USA. FLA also owns land in Mali (10,000 ha), Sierra Leone (29,400 ha), and Gambia (unclear, under two subsidiaries: Farm Resources Africa (Gambia) Limited and Farm Lands of Gambia Limited). FLA also purchased Buddhavarupu Farms and their existing 220,000 ha in Guinea in August 2012.
Nigel Woodhouse, Director of FLA: "The bulk of the land will be put down to GM soy. It will be farmed on an industrial scale to produce profit for the company, part owned by the government. The element of profit being the driver to engage western investment."
Meta information
Contributor:Aliza Tuttle
Last update18/08/2019
Conflict ID:106
Comments
Legal notice / Aviso legal
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