The Conversation | 17 January 2017, by Nikita Sud
Dealmakers: an investment conference in Cambodia. (Photo: EPA/Kith Serey)
Much of the global south – broadly comprising the continents of Asia, Africa, and Latin America – was shaped by colonialism. The so-called “great game” and the scrambles between Britain, Portugal, Belgium, France and other European states were for power, profit and – most visibly – for land.
Today, new scrambles are afoot from Brazil and Nigeria, to Ethiopia and Indonesia. Once again, land is the prize.
In the past decade, almost 50m hectares of land have been leased or bought from individuals, communities and governments in the global south for the large-scale production of biofuels, food, forest resources, industrial goods, infrastructure, tourism and livestock. A complex network of multinational companies, financial institutions and governments in the north are the key beneficiaries. http://www.farmlandgrab.org/post/view/26857-the-new-superpowers-in-the-global-land-grab-and-how-they-operate
