In Madagascar in questi giorni, dopo le rivolte in strada della popolazione, si e’ aggiunto il recente golpe dei militari. Leggendo le usuali fonti di (dis) informazione – i principali tre quotidiani nazionali, non considerando nemmeno gli altri – non si ha alcun accenno/approfondimento a quanto sta avvenendo laggiu’.
Non stiamo parlando di giornalismo reportage, di cronisti che devono schivare pallottole e avventurarsi nella giungla per mandare il loro pezzo: bastarebbe anche solo rifarsi e citare altre fonti, ad es. questo bell’articolo del Financial Times di qualche mese fa.
In pratica, il governo ha dato in concessione alla Daewoo (Corea del Sud) meta’ delle terre coltivabili del Madagascar per 99 anni: i malgasci potranno coltivarle (bonta’ loro), e i risultati del raccolto lasceranno il paese attraversando l’oceano. Non male come affare, no? Sufficiente per rivoltarsi, o no?
Daewoo Logistics of South Korea said it expected to pay nothing to farm maize and palm oil in an area of Madagascar half the size of Belgium, increasing concerns about the largest farmland investment of this kind.
The Indian Ocean island will simply gain employment opportunities from Daewoo’s 99-year lease of 1.3m hectares, officials at the company said. They emphasised that the aim of the investment was to boost Seoul’s food security.
“We want to plant corn there to ensure our food security. Food can be a weapon in this world,” said Hong Jong-wan, a manager at Daewoo. “We can either export the harvests to other countries or ship them back to Korea in case of a food crisis.”
Daewoo said it had agreed with Madagascar’s government that it could cultivate 1.3m hectares of farmland for free when it signed a memorandum of understanding in May. When the company signed the contract in July, it agreed to discuss costs with Madagascar. But Daewoo now believes it will have to pay nothing.
“It is totally undeveloped land which has been left untouched. And we will provide jobs for them by farming it, which is good for Madagascar,” said Mr Hong. The 1.3m hectares of leased land is almost half the African country’s current arable land of 2.5m hectares.
