A new study has raised concerns that hedge funds are behind "land grabs" in Africa to boost their profits in the food and biofuel sectors.
In its report, the Oakland Institute said hedge funds and other foreign firms had acquired large swathes of African land, often without proper contracts. As a result, the acquisitions had displaced millions of small farmers.
Foreign firms farm the land to consolidate their hold over global food markets, using the land for export commodities (such as biofuels and cut flowers) instead of food products that could be used to combat hunger in local markets.
"The same financial firms that drove us into a global recession by inflating the real estate bubble through risky financial maneuvers are now doing the same with the world's food supply," the report said. It added that some firms obtained land after deals with gullible traditional leaders or corrupt government officials.
"The research exposed investors who said it is easy to make a deal - that they could usually get what they wanted in exchange for giving a poor tribal chief a bottle of Johnnie Walker," said Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute. "When these investors promise progress and jobs to local chiefs it sounds great, but they don't deliver."
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