Rice farmers may be evicted by new biofuel companies

Mr Wasira said the government is cautioning farmers on food shortages and appealing for more concerted efforts to ensure delivery of at least one million tonnes of grain to avert starvation.

The food deficiency resulted from last year’s insufficient cereal harvests, whereby 5.2 million tonnes were collected as opposed to the projected national demand of 6 million tonnes for the 2009/2010 crop season.

The National Food Reserve Authority had stockpiled over 107,269 tonnes of cereals required for 2009/2010, but by June this year the stock had declined to 89,842 tonnes.

The Tanzania Investment Centre has set up a land bank of 2.5 million hectares identified as suitable for agrofuel investment.

Where use of local resources is perceived as unproductive, land may be classified as idle or underutilised. It could, therefore, be made available to prospective investors, despite its economic, social and cultural functions.

While investment promotion agencies may help bring underutilised land into production, doing so creates the risk of dispossession.

A British firm that has taken over a 9,000-hectare area for jatropha cultivation in Kisarawe district, in which more than 11 villages have given out their land, wants farmers to abandon food crops.

According to the report, the villagers have been compensated for mango and cashewnut trees on the land without regard to the market price of the land.

“The farmers have not been made fully aware of issues such as the genuine value of their land and the consequences of giving it up,” said the report.

The Holland based agrofuel firm Bioshape, a subsidiary of Bioshape Holdings, Holland, has applied to acquire about 81,000 hectares of land from the four villages of Mavuji, Liwiti, Migeregere and Nainwoke in Kilwa district, Lindi region.

But land officials say they have processed the purchase of only 34,736 hectares.

According to Mr Mkindi, the firm is in the process of paying $250,000 to the District Council, with the funds to be shared between the District Council (60 per cent) and the local communities (40 per cent).

“If they were to acquire the total 81,000 hectares they would pay $1.023 million. Bioshape is planning to use 60 per cent of the total land in plantation batches of 200ha plots and to maintain a 40 per cent buffer zone of natural vegetation, animal free zones, hills and wetlands, as well as thick forest,” said Mr Mkindi.