Ethiopia at centre of global farmland rush


John Vidal: 
Locals move out as international contractors seize opportunities offered by government to lease farmland at knockdown rates.  It’s the deal of the century: £150 a week to lease more than 2,500 sq km (1,000 sq miles) of virgin, fertile land – an area the size of Dorset – for 50 years. Bangalore-based food company Karuturi Global says it had not even seen the land when it was offered by the Ethiopian government with tax breaks thrown in.  Read More…