News on Land

MARGIBI COUNTY – Communities in Margibi and Bong Counties, represented by Green Advocates International (GAI) and three of its local partners, filed a complaint with the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), against the operations of the Salala Rubber Corporation (SRC) in Margibi County (Liberia).

CAO is the independent watchdog and accountability mechanism for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), of the World Bank Group.

Siem Reap provincial deputy governor Ly Samrith expressed concern that land registration plans for residents scheduled to be completed by late 2021 could not be achieved because 80 per cent of the land had not been registered.

Land dispute issues are a major factor that poses a hindrance to the registration process in the province, Samrith said.

Siem Reap provincial deputy governor Ly Samrith expressed concern that land registration plans for residents scheduled to be completed by late 2021 could not be achieved because 80 per cent of the land had not been registered.

Land dispute issues are a major factor that poses a hindrance to the registration process in the province, Samrith said.

The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) says it has made plans to help 77,400 people set up farms.

According to the agency, the farmers would be drawn from across the 774 local governments areas of the country.

NALDA was created by Ibrahim Babangida, a former military ruler, in 1992 through decree No.92 but in 2000 it was abolished by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

President Muhammadu Buhari resuscitated the agency in May.

Last year the world lost some 119,000 square kilometers (45,946 square miles) of tree cover – an area the size of Nicaragua – according to satellite data collated by the University of Maryland (UMD) released today by World Resources Institute (WRI). Almost a third of that loss – or an area the size of Switzerland – came from primary humid tropical forests, which house most of the planet’s plant and animal species and play an important role in climate regulation.

SOME 10–15% of the land area in cities could be converted for use as fruit and vegetable farms, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar made the estimate while discussing a model urban farm project run by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) at the end of National Farmers and Fisherfolk Month.

The DA is pushing urban agriculture as a possible strategy to relieve pressure on supply chains after major cities were cut off from the food-producing hinterland during the quarantine.

This special bulletin wants to pay tribute to the forest communities and peasant families around the world who despite all odds and difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic – including the movement restrictions imposed by governments and the corporate and elite profit-seeking abuses -, have still managed to practice solidarity:

A Vietnamese agribusiness company in eastern Cambodia has illegally cleared old-growth forests, wetlands and spiritual sites on land that it pledged to return to indigenous communities. The land move reneges on promises the company, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, made in a mediation process with the World Bank.

New reports from eastern Cambodia say a Vietnamese rubber company has illegally cleared swaths of land in Ratanakiri province belonging to local indigenous communities, in violation of a World Bank-mediated agreement to return the land to local residents. 

Kampong Thom provincial governor Sok Lou said on Wednesday that his province is facing a shortage of more than 10,000 workers due to mass migrations.

Lou noted that the shortage creates a problem because 27 companies are currently investing in 110,000ha of economic land concessions for agriculture.

Speaking at a press conference organised by the Royal Government Spokesperson Unit on provincial progress and work plans, he said Kampong Thom has over 290,000ha for rice cultivation.

The state government says the projects will be financed through Public-Private Partnership.

The Lagos State Government says it will continue to create more man-made islands at its waterfront across the state, to further increase land availability for Housing and Infrastructural Development.

The Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Mr Ahmed Abdullahi, said this in Ikeja on Wednesday at the Year 2020 Ministerial Press Briefing to mark the first year of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration.