Farm Radio Weekly

Two of this week’s stories cover land deals. While the circumstances are different – in Uganda, land is being taken to build an oil refinery, while in Benin, foreign and national investors are buying up land – the effect on small-scale farmers is very similar. Farmers suddenly find themselves with no access to land, which is devastating in terms of household food security and rural development in general.

Many farmers in Africa lack secure title to land, which leaves them open to the increasing incidence of land deals. They have no legal back-up and investors rarely consider customary rights, or the fact that the land may have been farmed by a family for generations.

For further information on the oil refinery story, visit: http://www.oilinuganda.org/categories/features/land

http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=40925

The advocacy organization, GRAIN, recently published a book called The Great Food Robbery. It looks at the land crisis, and examines the role of agribusiness and climate change. For more details:  http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4501-the-great-food-robbery-a-new-book-from-grain. The book will be available in French and Spanish soon.

Read an interview with the authors here:  http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/82375

Review this recent Note to Broadcasters (FRW 201) for further reading, scripts and program ideas on land issues: http://weekly.farmradio.org/2012/05/21/notes-to-broadcasters-on-land-tenure/