Neo-Colonialism

[outsider]

This is an old story (2012/13) but I don't think we picked it up:

'G8's new alliance for food security and nutrition is a flawed project

The UK government claims to be commited to ending hunger yet supports a scheme that, billed as good for Africa, is anything but:
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters

'...We all agree that African agriculture is in need of support and investment. So it's good news, right?

Sadly, no. The new alliance prioritises unprecedented access for multinational companies to resources in Africa. To access cash under the initiative, African governments have to make far-reaching changes to their land, seed and farming policies.

For a disturbing read, take a look at the new alliance's co-operation frameworks with countries. Mozambique, for example, is committed to "systematically ceasing to distribute free and unimproved [non-commercial] seeds to farmers except in emergencies". The new alliance will lock poor farmers into buying increasingly expensive seeds – including genetically modified seeds – allow corporate monopolies in seed selling, and escalate the loss of precious genetic diversity in seeds – absolutely key in the fight against hunger. It will also open the door to genetically modified (GM) crops in Africa by stopping farmers' access to traditional local varieties and forcing them to buy private seeds.

Already, under the guise of helping to fight poor nutrition in Africa, genetically engineered bananas and cassava are being tested – despite concern about their impacts, and the existence of better conventional varieties.

Several countries have been asked to speed up the takeover of land by foreign investors. Ethiopia, for instance, will "Refine land law, if necessary, to encourage long-term land leasing" (pdf), while companies are already asking for up to 500,000 hectares (12.35m acres) of land in Ivory Coast under this scheme.

Countless studies, including one by the UN special rapporteur on the right to food (pdf), have shown that large-scale land acquisitions and leases destroy the livelihoods and food security of thousands of communities, and that access to land (pdf) is essential for the right to food. This lends more than a touch of irony to the commitment by David Cameron, the UK prime minister, to address land grabbing in this G8 through the much-criticised land transparency initiative.

Already, multinational GM seed, fertiliser and grain companies such as Yara International, Monsanto and Cargill have signed up to benefit from the new alliance, and six African countries – Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania – have signed co-operation agreements. Most of these have barely been subject to democratic scrutiny, and undermine African-led democratic initiatives to tackle hunger such as the Maputo declaration (pdf) to raise public spending on agriculture and regional agriculture policies in west Africa...'

It is still being protested about, however:
Campaigners call on Unilever to pull out of ‘damaging’ Africa food scheme - http://www.wdm.org.uk/category/tags/press-release#sthash.CAslOyw9.dpuf

'...Marmite is one of Unilever's flagship products. African countries involved in the New Alliance are required to change their laws to make it easier for big corporations to buy up land, a move which campaigners believe will increase land-grabbing and leave farmers homeless and without livelihoods. The scheme will also help companies to control the supply of seeds used by African farmers, and increase production of export crops like biofuels at the expense of crops to feed local populations. Farmers’ groups from across Africa have condemned the New Alliance as ‘a new wave of colonialism...'

Though I am one of those who 'loved' Marmite, as opposed to those who 'hate' it, I recently dumped my two-thirds full pot of it, not because of the campaign (which I didn't know about), but because it's full of MSG, a brain-cell killer.