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Article

4 Jun 2018

Author:
World Rainforest Movement

Dem. Rep. of Congo: Peasant farmers worry expansion of palm oil production will increase food insecurity & loss of land

"Democratic Republic of Congo: Turning peasant lands once more into oil palm monocultures"

Over the past 10-15 years, a renewed wave of industrial oil palm plantations expansion has been taking place in West and Central African countries. This is mainly due to the interest of transnational companies to make profits from the increasing demand for palm oil on the global market. Large-scale plantations have been invading land belonging to communities, affecting food sovereignty, cultural or sacred spaces, increasing violence in particular towards women and leading to many community protests...

Peasant organisations like COPACO alert for the threat of expanding oil palm monocultures and other crops, due to their social, cultural and environmental impacts. They stress that peasants must maintain the control over the lands they depend on. The suggested ‘integration’ of peasants with the agribusiness sector however, such as the PAPAKIN programme, puts this control over their lands at risk. COPACO defends a diversified production system based on the control over lands to secure food sovereignty for present and future generations.  The principles of agroecology, which radically oppose the implementation of monocultures depending on chemical inputs, are fundamental.