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AgriSol Energy LLC

Iowa Company Linked to Refugee Abuses In Tanzania

AgriSol, an Iowa company, has been linked to plans to evict 160,000 Burundian refugees from Katumba and Mishamo in western Tanzania, according to “Lives on Hold,” a new report by the Oakland Institute.

Report Alleges AgriSol is Associated with Human Rights Violations in Tanzania

 

"Lives on Hold," a report released today by the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and the Oakland Institute, alleges that the Iowa firm AgriSol Energy is responsible in part for human-rights abuses against more than 160,000 refugees in Tanzania — an accusation that the agricultural firm vehemently denies.

Report Aligns Tanzania Strife, Ag Objective of Rastetter Firm

But AgriSol denies any tie between its efforts and abuses of refugees.

 

A new report alleges Tanzanian refugees are suffering ongoing human rights abuses, in part because of relocation efforts that have coincided with a push by an agriculture company with Iowa ties to lease land in the country.

Some of an estimated 162,000 refugees in Tanzania have had their homes and crops burned by government security officials and been arbitrarily arrested and denied free speech, according to the Oakland Institute, a California think tank.

Press Statement: Lives on Hold

Press Statement from Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute, on the Institute’s latest report, Lives on Hold, which documents the impact of AgriSol’s land deal in Tanzania. Released at press call, July 9, 2012

 

Press Release: Lives on Hold--AgriSol's Land Deal in Tanzania Creates an Uncertain Future for More than 160,000 People

Report embargoed until 12:00 am EDT, JULY 9, 2012

Contact: Anuradha Mittal 

(510) 469-5228; [email protected]

 

Lives on Hold

AgriSol's Land Deal in Tanzania Creates an Uncertain Future for More than 160,000 People

 

Land Deal Brief: Lives on Hold

In June 2011, the Oakland Institute (OI) released details of the largest land deal in Tanzania, which had been hidden away from public scrutiny prior to that and obscured from national debate and discussion. The deal involved Iowa-based Summit Group and the Global Agriculture Fund of the Pharos Financial Group working in partnership with AgriSol Energy LLC and Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Iowa CCI Statement to the Press

For Immediate Release--July 9, 2012

Tribune Editorial: More Questions about AgriSol Deal

The relationship between Iowa State University and AgriSol Energy, as revealed in more than 400 emails recently obtained by the Associated Press through a Freedom of Information Act request, raises fundamental questions about transparency of public institutions and the meaning of public-private partnerships.

Activists Raise Red Flag Over Tanzania Land Deal

An independent watchdog is piling pressure on the United States government to intervene in a deal whereby by US agribusiness corporation AgriSol Energy LLC is taking over 800,000 acres of land in Tanzania’s western Rukwa region.

The deal could see the eviction of 160,000 households who have been living on the land for over 40 years.

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