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Article

23 Dec 2013

Author:
Marie Keyworth, BBC

The challenges of boosting Tanzania's rice production

By the end of this century...farmers will need to increase their food production...The G8's answer to this challenge has been to call in private sector agriculture firms, asking them to invest billions in Africa and kick-start an agricultural revolution...But there are some doubts about...what will happen to people already living on land which is then handed over to foreign investors...[In a] small village of Mbwene...the villagers there know about these investment plans...[but say] they have no idea what is going to happen to their homes, community, and...the land they currently rely on for subsistence. William James, the acting village executive officer, says even though he has written to the district authorities asking for information - the villagers have been told nothing. "People are very shocked and angry" he says. Grace Sintanga, who has been farming land outside the village for 30 years, says: "They're just taking out our land, the land we depend on. [refers to Monsanto, Yara & Syngenta]