Sierra Leone Agriculture (SLA) signed a 50-year lease in May of 2010 for 41,582 ha for the development of palm oil for biofuels, displacing over 30,000 residents and farmers in the Port Loko district, Sierra Leone. At the time of signing, SLA was a subsidiary of UK-based Caparo Group, which is owned by Baron Swraj Paul, an Indian-born, British-based business magnate and Labour politician close to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The project planned to establish palm oil plantations on 40,000 ha by 2017, as well as associated biofuel plants, nurseries, and infrastructure. In 2011 SLA was purchased by SIVA Group for US$5 million, thereby transferring the lease to the gigantic Indian-owned company. No information about the deal was given to the local communities, and communication continues to be vague and contradictory. For example, the Oakland Institute (OI) reports village chiefs understand the lease to be renewed every 7 years, but the Crad-l (owner of initial lease, now defunct) website reports a lease of 50 years. 8,500 jobs were promised, but as of October 2012 only 600 were working, mostly casual and without contracts. An outgrower scheme may or may not exist, as well as additional intentions to expand to another 20,000 ha. Specific details are not listed on the company’s website. Additionally, the Minister of Agriculture of Sierre Leone said he has never heard of SLA – indeed OI reports SLA negotiated directly with local chiefs, therefore bypassing the national government (and its’ regulations), and neither landowners nor local people have copies of the lease. Since the lease was negotiated without the input of the national government, an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment was never done for the SLA lease. The current status of the project is unknown.

The lease is for 50 years, but is eligible to be renewed for an additional 21, and again for 7 (total 99 years). The project is expected to produce 85,000 cubic meters of ethanol annually for the national grid. The project entails a nursery (capacity for one million seedlings), an additional outdoor nursery, and 35,000 ha total to be planted with oil palm. Although the MAFFS guidelines state the investor shall pay US$12 per ha per year, since the agreement did not go through the National Government the deal is not held to these standards. At last mention SLA pays $2 ha/year.