Category: Agribusiness

According to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, “dispossession of land and natural resources is a major human rights problem for indigenous peoples. They have in so many cases been pushed out of their traditional areas to give way for the economic interests of other more dominant groups and to large scale development initiatives that tend to destroy their lives and cultures rather than improve their situation….[including] widespread expansion of areas under crop production. They have all resulted in loss of access to fundamental natural resources that are critical for the survival of both pastoral and hunter-gatherer communities such as grazing areas, permanent water sources and forest products.”

Wodaabe vs. Niger

The Wodaabe are an indigenous people found in Niger and throughout North Africa. While they follow the nomadic lifestyle of cattle herding and some trading, their land rights are threatened by the Nigerien government’s encouragement of farm settlements. Photo Credit: Meryt Harding

Morogoro

Maasai communities are facing violent attacks and eviction due to agricultural investments, conservation, and discrimination by farmers.

Bagamoyo

The influx of land-buyers is crowding out pastoralists in Bagamoyo. Additionally, a mega sugar cane plantation is being built, leading to more evictions of pastoralists.

Suri vs. Lim Siow Jin Estate

The Ethiopia government leased land to Malaysian company Lim Siow Jin Estate in the Bench Maji Zone of the SNNPR (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region) region in 2011. However, the 31,000-hectare large plantation overlaps with the land of the Suri people and has had negative effects on their traditional pastoral livelihood.