'Exploitation of a Higher Kind': How the G7 is Fueling Corporate Dominion of Africa

[unhappycamper]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/06/03/exploitation-higher-kind-how-g7-fueling-corporate-dominion-africa



Experts and grassroots groups working to expose takeover of Big Ag under the guise of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition

'Exploitation of a Higher Kind': How the G7 is Fueling Corporate Dominion of Africa
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
Wednesday, June 03, 2015

Under the specious claim of delivering "aid to Africa," western governments are backing an initiative—described by some as another form of "colonialism"—that is effectively enabling the corporate takeover of African nations by some of the world’s biggest food and agriculture companies.

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Under the New Alliance, ten African governments—Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tanzania—have "committed to develop or revise policies that will facilitate responsible private investment in agriculture in support of smallholder farmers." However, the opposition coalition says, since its inception in 2012, there is little evidence of any positive impact. Instead, the policy changes have paved the way for corporate exploitation of local land and people.

According to the coalition statement, the New Alliance policies "facilitate the grabbing of land and other natural resources, further marginalize small-scale producers, and undermine the right to adequate food and nutrition"—all in the interest of courting large multi-nationals.

For example, at the urging of the New Alliance, a bill often referred to as the "Monsanto law," which criminalizes the saving and swapping of seeds, is poised for passage by the parliament of Ghana. A recent report put forth by international peasant farmer and food justice groups La Via Campesina and Grain notes that students and union groups who have been fighting the bill say it is a "precondition sought by transnational corporations as a requirement for operating in Africa."