Al Jazeera | 23 December 2013

The rural community of Thiamene is fighting against the Senhuile agriculture project [Stefano Liberti/Al Jazeera]

Senegal’s shady farmland agreement
by Stefano Liberti
Ndiael, Senegal – A large-scale agriculture project run by an Italian company has sparked protests in northern Senegal with local livestock owners threatening to march their cattle to the capital to get the deal cancelled.
The company Senhuile, owned 51 percent by Italian Tampieri Financial Group and 49 percent by Senegalese Senethanol SA, has been granted 20,000 hectares of farmland  to produce sunflower seeds for export to Italy. But the land in the area of Ndiael was formerly designated for nature preservation.

http://www.farmlandgrab.org/post/view/22968#sthash.Hn4NZkMp.dpuf