COALITION EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT JATROPHA FARMS (PAGE 51, DEC 17, 2010)

THE Civil Society Coalition on Land (CICOL) has expressed concern over the scramble for large tracts of land across the country by multinational and local companies for the cultivation of jatropha.
According to CICOL, as much as 510,000 hectares of land had already been acquired for the cultivation of jatropha in Agogo in the Ashanti Region, Yeji in the Brong Ahafo Region and other parts of the country, explaining that the activity had already displaced many farmers, thereby affecting food production in the areas without adequate compensation.
The executive committee of CICOL, therefore, appealed to the government to, as a matter of urgency, intervene, saying displacing farmers for the cultivation of jatropha at the expense of food crops had the tendency of creating food insecurity and shortages in the country.
An executive member of CICOL, Nana Dwomo Sarpong, who briefed the Daily Graphic on the operations of multinational companies in the cultivation of jatropha and its effect on food production, explained that in Agogo, a Norwegian company had acquired 400,000 hectares of land belonging to the people of Agogo for the cultivation of jatropha for bio-diesel production.
Explaining further, he said an Israeli company, Galten Company Limited, had also acquired 100,000 hectares of land for the cultivation of the crop at Yeji, while an Italian company, Agroils Limited, had also acquired 10,000 hectares of land to cultivate the crop.
Nana Sarpong, who is also the President of Friends of Rivers and Water Bodies, an environmental NGO, said so far more than 20 companies from The Netherlands, India, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Israel, Norway, China and Brazil were now in Ghana cultivating lands in the Volta, Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, Eastern and Northern regions.
On oil exploration in the country, he said the situation would further aggravate the land grabbing situation in Ghana, since vast parcels of land had already been obtained for large-scale gold mining, timber utilisation, as well as rubber and oil plantation.
“These acquisitions have impacted on land rights and livelihood and compensation issues remain a great challenge,” he stated.
“The oil find is on the verge of rendering the rural folks in the Jomoro District poorer, as their lands which were used for the cultivation of cocoa, coconut, oil palm, cassava, maize, groundnut and vegetables are now leased out for other purposes in relation to the oil find,” he explained.
Nana Sarpong reiterated the need for adequate compensation to be paid to displaced farmers, saying, “Farmers have to be compensated fairly when their farmlands are claimed for other purposes.”