Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Tanzania Selling Land to South Korea

Is 'Tanzania selling Arable land to South Korea' something we should happy about or scared out of our pants about? I personally not excited.Looks to me like this cooperation will be beneficial to some people only, but not much to the people of Tanzania..harsh as it may be but it sure looks like that to me.
 Aloyce Masanja, the head of the Rufiji River Basin Authority a public enterprise, in Tanzania which has recently signed an agreement with the South Korean government to “jointly develop” some of the land to the west of the Dar es Salaam.



He was reluctant to admit that the South Koreans would be sending the rice from the Tanzanian rice paddies back home, but eventually he did concede that when there was an “excess” of food that the South Koreans would be allowed to export the food back to Asia.
How in the world is it beneficial anyhow? This smells like some sort of exploitation to me. They make you believe that we're in it Jointly but then its really what they want you to believe.....or is it?

Yes, There will be a few positive effects here and there Like Boosting employment opportunities for those Rural dwellers,Encourage steady Inflows of FDI into the economy (not just agricultural but also food processing etc.), Facilitate the transfer of modern productive techniques and technologies,Lead to the transfer of Skills and knowledge which in turn will lead to increases in the earning capacity of rural dwellers and thus positively impact on their standard of living,Contribute to towards infrastructural development of rural areas as amenities such as bore holes, pipe borne water, electrification, access roads etc. and  Potentially lead to more partnerships in other areas of the economy.
But You cant surpass the fact that this is not a first, this is happening all over Africa, Why?  My first guess is Western Nations, Middle Eastern Nations  believe that they may face a shortage of food,The dramatic rise in food prices must scare em and these countries  simply be expanding by moving into Africa for food production NOT food purchase. African politicians  embrace this believing they are "successfully attracting investment."  Half True, Half false, because these nations are producing only for their own consumption  and all their food is exported to their home countries and yes we might gather a few skills here and there but who is it most  beneficial to and who is losing the most? 


This is not just happening In Tanzania , in 2009 we heard of these countries buying massive lands in many African countries to produce for overseas markets...This is just typical land-grabbing at its best. Read here 

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