company:agrisol energy

  • Déplacements forcés Projets Industriel Etats-Unis Afrique Tanzanie Réfugiés

    Une firme américaine soupçonnée de vouloir favoriser le déplacement forcé de 160 000 personnes (des réfugiés burundais en Tanzanie) pour un projet industriel

    Iowa Firm Accused of Displacing Tanzanians for Profit

    http://www.globalpolicy.org/social-and-economic-policy/world-hunger/land-ownership-and-hunger/51777-iowa-firm-accused-of-displacing-tanzanians-for-profit.html?itemi

    By Ethan Freedman
    IPS
    July 11, 2012

    According to the Oakland Institute, a project by AgriSol Energy, a major U.S energy company, would displace more than 160,000 Burundian refugees in Tanzania, many of whom are subsistence farmers. The Tanzanian government supports the AgriSol project under an initiative that claims to “promote agricultural development through public-private partnerships.” This partnership is contingent on the government leasing the land to the company for just 25 cents per acre. While AgriSol is expecting to earn approximately 300 million dollars a year from the project, thousands of refugees in Tanzania are losing their lands and livelihoods.

    A major U.S. energy company, AgriSol Energy, is accused of engaging in land grabs in Tanzania that would displace more than 160,000 Burundian refugees who have lived there for decades, according to a report by the Oakland Institute, an organisation focused on environmental issues.

    An ethics complaint from the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) states that AgriSol is benefiting from the forcible eviction of the refugees, many of whom are subsistence farmers, and leasing the land — as much as 800,000 acres — from the Tanzanian government for 25 cents per acre. “All duty and tax free,” the Iowa CCI adds.

    The project could net AgriSol, led by co-founder Bruce Rastetter, as much as 300 million dollars a year, according to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

  • Lives on hold
    http://farmlandgrab.org/post/view/20763

    A new report by the Oakland Institute, Lives on Hold, exposes the consequences of Iowa-based AgriSol Energy LLC’s plans to lease more than 800,000 acres in Tanzania. The project initiated in 2007-2008 has moved forward without public debate or consent, and will evict more than 160,000 long-term residents of Katumba and Mishamo, who remain in the dark over compensation and relocation plans. The AgriSol land deal is a part of Kilimo Kwanza, or Agriculture First, the Tanzanian government’s scheme to promote agricultural development through public-private partnerships.

    In June 2011, the Oakland Institute revealed how Iowa-based Bruce Rastetter, CEO of AgriSol Energy, leveraged the involvement of Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to provide legitimacy to this deal. Initially masquerading the project as responsible agricultural investment, the university completely withdrew any support or association with it in February 2012 under growing public pressure. While AgriSol claims to have halted operations in Katumba and Mishamo until the refugees have been relocated, Lives on Hold depicts how the relocation is to be accomplished.

    #terres #Tanzanie #agrobusiness #réfugiés