Selling away Ethiopia’s fertile lands piece by piece to foreigners is one of Meles Zenawi’s methods of looting the country. The money he receives in hard currency leaves the country while the people of Ethiopia are stuck with agreements that do not benefit the country. The foreigners must be told in clear terms that any agreement they sign with Meles will be void as soon as he is thrown out of power. — Editor’s Note
INDIA — Punjab-based farmers, who are known for feeding the country, now want to try their hands offshore, with a group of progressive farmers all set to acquire 50,000 hectares of farm land on lease in Ethiopia for growing high-value cash crops, including pulses and maize.
“We will be inking a deal with the Ethiopia government next month for getting at least 50,000 hectares of area for growing crops like pulses and maize, which will be exported to India and Europe,” Confederation of Potato Seed Farmers President, Mr Sukhjit Singh Bhatti, told PTI here.
Mr Bhatti will lead a delegation of 16 interested potato growers from Punjab to carry out farming in Ethiopia.
What encouraged these potato growers to try their hand at farming overseas was land availability at almost throwaway rates, duty free imports of capital goods and the zero duty on farm exports offered by Ethiopia.
“Unlike here, most of the agricultural land is with the Ethiopian government and it has offered us to acquire land on lease for a period ranging between 25 to 40 years at a nominal rate, which works out to Rs 400 per acre per annum in Indian currency. Moreover, we will not have to pay for the first five years of our operations,” he said.
Furthermore, the cropping pattern in Ethiopia is not that intense as it is in Punjab. “With less pressure on land there (Ethiopia), the soil will be suitable for growing pulses, maize and other cash crops,” he said, adding, “These crops will be exported to India and Europe.”
The Ethiopian government has also assured that it will not levy any duty on the import of machinery like farm implements and export of agricultural commodities. (Sources: (Deccan Chronicle, ENA)
10 thoughts on “Meles sells 50,000 hectares of land to India”
This thing happend in Kenya some years a go so we can ask them to help how go about it and deal with it.
It can bring scarry war between nations and many will friend ship with each other while some dance behind the screen.
50,000 hectare is about 500 km².
Addis Ababa has an area of 530.14 km².
Tamagn once said “Why the surprise? Watch. They will even rent out the Minilik Palace. What are you going to do about it?”
GIGI
are u out of your mind you stand today cos our for fathers pay the price with their Blood not dancing around like you do.
do u think our for father sold their land to Sudan or to Mussolini or now to any foreigners from Saudi Arabia TO INDIA and other countries in between.freedom is not free countless of our for fathers payed in foul with their life.if u can not fight with us u are against us Ethiopians.people like u makes me sick.
Meles Zenawi and his genocidal regime must be terminated before they terminates Ethiopia. How evil can one dictator get? Enough is enough, something must be done.
We must change our tactics too. We need to involve our lawyers, writers, thinker – all those who ran our country before and who now are scattered around the globe – and follow through on your investigation and exposition, Elias, we need to recoup about 90% of the looted wealth in the future. There are hundreds of ways of fighting without picking an arm.
September 17, 2010, 2:00 AM
I.B.M.: Africa Is the Next Growth Frontier
By STEVE LOHR for New York Times
Samuel J. Palmisano, I.B.M.’s chief executive, doesn’t jet around the world to make an appearance every time the technology giant wins a services contract. But the announcement Friday morning in Nairobi is different, says I.B.M.
Bharti Airtel
Samuel J. Palmisano, I.B.M.’s chief executive, left, with Sunil Bharti Mittal, the chairman of Bharti Airtel.
I.B.M. will supply the computing technology and services for an upgraded cellphone network across 16 nations in sub-Saharan Africa. Its customer is India’s largest cellphone operator, Bharti Airtel, which paid $9 billion a few months ago for most of the African assets of Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Company, or Zain.
Under the 10-year agreement, I.B.M. will handle customer service for Bharti and provide the hardware, software and services to run everything from billing and call-traffic management to delivering new services like music and video. The deal takes the broad partnership between Bharti and I.B.M., begun in 2004, beyond India. I.B.M. is not disclosing the dollar size of the deal, but analysts estimate it at more than $1.5 billion over the decade-long span.
The Bharti contract also punctuates I.B.M.’s Africa strategy. The company’s presence in Africa dates back 50 years, but in the last five years I.B.M. has invested $300 million in the region to build data centers, add country offices and foster technology training programs — and it plans to expand aggressively in the region.
“This is a huge step forward for I.B.M. in what we think is the next major emerging growth market — Africa,” said Bruno Di Leo, general manager for growth markets for I.B.M.
Though it looms small in the global technology market today, Africa is primed for growth, according to Frank Gens, an analyst at IDC. “And I.B.M. is, as it’s done before, getting in on the ground floor,” Mr. Gens said.
The company’s strategy calls for the growth markets — not only the well-known BRIC countries, Brazil, Russia, India and China, but also dozens of others — to increase as a share of I.B.M.’s revenue from 19 percent to 25 percent by 2015. That is the equivalent of $1 billion in new sales a year.
In these nations, I.B.M. is targeting the linchpin industries of economies including telecommunications, banking, transportation, health care and energy.
Mr. Di Leo, speaking on Thursday from his office in Shanghai, noted that mobile phones in developing regions like Africa were used not only for talking and texting, but for many other day-to-day activities like banking. He said only 23 percent of Africans have access to banking services, but already 8 million Africans use their cellphones for payments.
So that technology application alone, Mr. Di Leo said, was “a huge opportunity.”
just seat and watch today 50.000 tomorrow 100.000
Meles has to lease or sale anything he can put his hand to convert EFFORT money to hard currency and stash them in his personal accounts in Europe and China. We Ethiopians gave him a blank check the wealth of the country with out anyone dare to ask him. ABAT EYALE RUT, JEMBER EYALECH AGIT. ABATH BET SIWERER ABREH WURER.
next they will be selling Lalibela, Gonder, whatever that will bring the mighty dollar with out any regard, except Tigray.
It is so sad to see Ethiopia bleeding as if it doesn’t have sons and daughters.How is it one clique can do anything it wants to do without being challenged?What happen to the over 60,000,000 Ethiopians? Does anyone have a courage other than talking?Ethiopians please do something before Chienese, and Indians take over the country and live as a third class citizens in your own land.
Here is what i want to say to the dork,his wife and the rest of his clans who are squattering in Arat kilo palace.Giving our land for which our grandfathers sacrificed thier life for the sake of money is unheard of any where in the world.while you are enjoying your ill found wealth 90% of our population is suffering even to feed themselves once a day.I sometimes doubt money is the motive behind such kinds of disrespect to your country and people.whatever it is you and your clans will be held accountable for all the crime you committed against our country and innocent people.As to those who are turning a blind eye for the sake of personal gain also will face thier jugement when that day comes.