I've got a little example of a land grab here, but let me just read what I've got in italics. The upshot is that these agricultural sell-offs are very likely to stoke the fires of further intertribal violence, because evicted farmers migrate to new lands and they attack or are attacked by traditional tillers and grazers of those lands. This was the legacy of the long-lease of oil rights to the Chinese in the late 1990s--the local people forced off their lands--and it could well be the legacy of the current rush to long-leased agriculture and agribusiness.
I just want to close by saying that CIDA has funded some of the NGO work on land tenure in the south, and I think this committee should inquire whether in CIDA's informed opinion the new land tenure laws are adequate or even properly complied with, because what I hear over and over again is that they're not. CIDA has to respect the sovereign decisions of national governments. CIDA's contract is that they can't just walk into the minister of agriculture's office in Juba and demand to know whether the letter and spirit of the new land tenure laws is being respected. But my understanding is it's not and that the ministry is signing very lucrative deals and putting people off their land.
I think this is an issue that maybe hasn't received enough attention. It's a long running issue and it's a complex issue, because agribusiness will increase productivity in agriculture and they need that. It's largely for export and it's not necessarily going to get into people's bellies.
Thank you.