Oakland Inst investigates shady Land Investment Deals in Africa

The Oakland Institute Reporter

Understanding Land Investment Deals in Africa

Dear friends and supporters of the Oakland Institute,

On June 8, 2011, Oakland Institute presented to the media the first round of OI's newly released research on land investment deals in Africa. This included 3 country reports on Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, and Mali along with several Briefs on specific land deals. A separate launch for the country report on Sierra Leone was organized by our partner Green Scenery (http://www.greenscenery.org) and for the country report on Ethiopia by the Solidarity Movement for New Ethiopia SMNE (www.solidaritymovement.org). The launch of this work has generated much national/international interest.

As land grabs in Africa continue to occur amidst secrecy and lack of transparency, OI is glad to have helped unmask some of the players in these harmful deals and shine a light on the disturbing details with ground-breaking research. To have an overview of key findings, please see Frequently Asked Questions on Food Security and Western Investors at http://media.oaklandinstitute.org/special-investigation-understanding-land-investment-deals-africa

We are glad that our work has not gone unnoticed. To date we have been able to reach multitudes, citizens and law makers around the world, with this important information. We appeared on CNN International; were on the home page of the Guardian; were the most read story on BBC World; and the Institute's African land grab story has been covered by thousands of media outlets around the world including coverage by CBC, CBS News, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Le Monde, Les Echos, Le Temps, Huffington Post, Toronto Star, The Hindu, Modern Ghana, Radio Dubai... More important, it has been a key story in African media and the blogging community, giving voice to communities who are demanding explanations for the theft of their lands.

To see Featured Media Coverage of Understanding Land Investment Deals in Africa visit http://media.oaklandinstitute.org/land-deals-africa/media

You can view and download reports, land deal briefs, as well as contracts and additional materials at:

http://media.oaklandinstitute.org/special-investigation-understanding-land-investment-deals-africa

Our sincere hope is that our work will assist civil society organizations, farmer groups, media, and all concerned individuals who have been working to challenge the sale and lease of agricultural lands in poor developing nations to rich investors.

We are grateful to all individuals, supporters, and partners who have joined us in this important work.

Sincerely,

The OI team

p.s. In the coming months we will be releasing additional country reports, Briefs on land deals and investors involved. So stay tuned!

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