Foreign Investors Grab Land in Southern Sudan, Aid Group Says

Foreign investors are buying large tracts of land in Southern Sudan that add up to an area larger than Rwanda, threatening food supplies and stability in a region due to become independent in July, a Norwegian aid group said.

International organizations have sought or acquired 26,400 square kilometres (10,000 square miles) of land for agricultural, biofuel and forestry projects since 2007, Oslo-based Norwegian People’s Aid said yesterday in a report. When domestic investments, previously established mechanized farms and investments in tourism are included, the total comes to 57,400 square kilometres, about 9 percent of the region’s total land area, it said.