Findings of field work Kisarawe and Rufiji

How the land was acquired

·         They were not involved in land acquisition process

·         They did not know the underlying frameworks on land acquisition and land rights and they still not sure who to go for the compensations.

·         The government officials fraud them to make imprecise decision to let go off their land

·         They did not sign any contracts with the investor regarding their compensation.

·         Some villagers said the land acquired was under cultivation while others said land was not under cultivation or any other use.

·         Land was undervalued

Effect of the Biofuel Investment on the communities members

·         Low wage for the people employed by the investors farmers

·         Workers are being sacked constantly without pay!

·         Over exploitation of farmers in the farmers since they work for long periods

·         Workers working under difficult conditions since they have no protective gears

·         Farmers lost  farms in which they had previously used to grow mango, and cashew nuts and some for food production

·         Natural forests were cut down and this is upsetting the climate patterns.

·         Farmers lost their land and cannot collect fire wood and burn charcoal

·         Investors never kept their promises

·         Access to water is now limited as the water points were fenced off by the investors

·         Farmers unable to expand their farming

What the community members want

• They need their land back

·         They need compensation

·         They need pledged promises fulfilled (building schools, health centers and provision of clean water)

·         Building relations between the investors and the farmers

·          A network of the farmers

·         Land to be distributed between the investors and the farmers

 Investor’s side of the story

·         They got land from TIC

·         They paid for land (compensation for villagers) through the government, and so government pays the villagers on behalf of the investor

·         They will provide social services for the villagers ranging from water, building schools and health centers, and ambulances.

·         They will employ villagers to work for the farms

·         Villagers are stealing their farm products e.g. (stolen maize worth  60,000,000 from the Turkish investor in Nyamwage village)

What are we working with here!

·         The land given to investors by the government belong to the villagers

·         The value of the land is incomparable with the compensation or any promises pledged to provides social services together with the investment made by the investors in the land as of now

·         Land taken by the investors was not being used by the villagers for farming activities, but rather for harvesting charcoal, woods and firewood. In some cases, farming activities were conducted though in very small scale

·         Villagers do not have capacity to develop the unused arable land for farming activities in large scale

·         In an event the farming activities should be conducted in large scale, advanced implements must be used

·         From villagers  anecdote, there is a thirst using land for economic activities though in the same old ways  as earlier (undisturbed ecosystem)

·         There is no any economic activity that does not have side effect and so is the case for agro fuels.

·         Agro fuels is as same as other non food crops such as sisal and cotton and all have their side effects

·         The villagers were given undeserved status (object of charity) instead of domestic investor, basing on the fact that the land belongs to them.

What are we recommending!

That government should stop issuing more land for biofeuel investment until policies and regulatory frameworks are in place, such policies and regulations should ensure food security is assured and that the Tanzanians benefit from such investments.

What is our campaign about?

Food fight campaign, ensuring that food security is not threatened by biofuel investments.

Objective

Governments don’t allocate land for biofuel production without policies that ensure food security are in place.

Message

No biofuel investments without policies. Ensure food security

Target

Ministry of land

Ministry of energy and minerals

Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security 

And the government.