Stop imminent land grab that threatens over 162,000 people
As industrial agricultural corporation AgriSol Energy sets it sights on 800,000 acres (325,000 hectares) of land in Tanzania that is home to 162,000 people, the Oakland Institute continues its call for people to urge the company, other investors and the government to step away from the project.
Thanks to friends at Grassroots International, GRAIN, International Forum on Globalization, ONE, Polaris Institute, Third World Network, and many partner groups around the world, thousands of letters have been delivered to AgriSol Energy and the Government of Tanzania. But we need to keep the pressure up!
Join this Growing International Effort to Stop the Land Grab
Iowa-based investor Bruce Rastetter and fellow investors in the industrial agricultural corporation AgriSol Energy have their sights on 800,000 acres (325,000 hectares) of land in Tanzania that is home to 162,000 people. The proposed site is inhabited by former refugees from neighboring Burundi. Most of the residents--several generations of families who have successfully re-established their lives by developing and farming the land over the last 40 years--will be displaced against their will. They will lose their livelihoods and their community. Once they are gone, Agrisol Energy will move in.
And Now, on Behalf of its More Than ONE MILLION Supporters in the U.S. and Canada,
Sierra Club is Urging AgriSol Energy and the Tanzanian Government to Step Away from the Ill-Advised Project
Despite this growing international pressure, the Tanzanian Government is defending its plans, claiming AgriSol will transform Tanzania into a "regional agricultural powerhouse" by combining the country's abundant agricultural natural resources with "modern" farming practices, including the use of genetically modified crops. Unfortunately, AgriSol's plans--which include seeking Strategic Investor Status from the Tanzanian government that would grant them tax holidays and other critical investment incentives (including waiver of duties on agricultural and industrial equipment supplies, export guarantees, and certainty for use of GMO and Biotech and production of biofuels), while generating tremendous profit for the investors--will do little, if anything, for Tanzanians.
Speaking in the Parliament on Monday, October 24, 2011, the Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Food Security, and Cooperatives, Meshack Opulukwa, (CHADEMA) said that the American firm AgriSol Energy's acquisition of the land in Rukwa will displace 162,000 local farmers.
‘The opposition's position that the investor is an important element in food production or that he will create employment. This is no justification in taking away land from villagers.’ Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Meshack Opulukwa Daily News
Please Send a Message to Bruce Rastetter, Other Principle Investors, and the Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania
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