Bhatta-Parsaul villages in Greater Noida may have become the new symbol of disquiet over land acquisition but they represent a larger, worldwide challenge to policymakers. Large-scale acquisition of farmland in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia has made headlines over the past one year. Africa has become a prime target for land grabbers from the corporate sector, with money, power and local government support, not only China and India but also West Asia. “Some 15-20 million hectares of land in poor countries have either been sold or are under negotiations for sale to foreign buyers since 2006,” says a report by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a Washington-based think tank.
For the last six months, the farmers of Sudan, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia have been protesting as their lands were taken away in the name of growing cash crops. Most of the land deals were done secretly without the knowledge of the local farmers. A farmer in Karmi village of Ethiopia complained how his land was taken away illegally. “We don’t know what will happen to us in the future,” said the local farmer as reported by IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs.
Experts say land is central to the farmers’ identity, livelihood and food security. Loss of livelihood always looms large when even a small tract of land is taken away from farmers. The new settlement demands extra money or skills development, neither provided properly. “Investors bring money into the area; local opportunities for indigenous people are nil,” said researcher Guus van Westen on such land grabs.
Rehabilitation hardly takes care of the farmers’ loss of land. In April, anti-jatropha campaigners protested in Ghana. Land was taken from the farmers to grow jatropha, which is used in making bio-fuel. Six months ago, farmers of a village in Gezira state of Sudan protested the government’s decision to acquire land. Allegations of meagre compensation ran across the media. A huge uproar by the local people started in Patagonia, Argentina when they came to know about Chinese interest in buying land in the region. The farmers alleged that Chinese presence would “bring heavy agrochemical use and ecological degradation, and strain the region’s water resources”.
That the farmers do not benefit from such international deals is well known. South Korea has acquired 17 lakh acre of land to grow wheat in Sudan. The United Arab Emirates is investing in 9.59 lakh acre to grow corn, alfalfa, wheat, potatoes and beans in Sudan. Farmers allege that local crops are not cultivated. “In Ethiopia and Sudan, millions of people are being sustained with food from the UN World Food Programme,” Lester Brown president of the Earth Policy Institute has written in the latest issue of Foreign Policy magazine. “That the governments of these two countries are willing to sell land to foreign interests when their own people are hungry is a sad commentary on their leadership,” lambasted Brown.
But why is land up for grabs? The reason is that most countries do not have legal or procedural mechanisms to protect individuals’ rights. Buyers exploit these loopholes to their advantage. In India, the land acquisition act dates back to 1894 and is ill-suited to present-day requirements.
Small places like Bhatta-Parsaul, Karmi, Patagonia and Gezira have stormed into international consciousness because of protests against land acquisition. But, just as in the rest of the world, even as Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has announced a new land acquisition policy, it remains to be seen whether the governments in India will really relent in favour of farmers or keep feeding the appetite of the corporate sector to maintain GDP-led growth.
