TerraProject
Book, Exhibition, Tearsheet
2016
TerraProject
Book, Exhibition, Tearsheet
2016
Gambella, Ethiopia. Local workers in the rice filelds of Saudi Star in Gambella. Saudi Star, which belong to the Sheik Al-Almoudi, plans to spend up to bn acquiring and developing 500,000 hectares of land in Ethiopia in the next few years.
Land Inc. is an ambitious collective work that brought TerraProject to Brazil, Dubai, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Madagascar, the Philippines and Ukraine to document an epical passage of humanity: the shift from family farming to largescale industrial plantations.
After the 2008 food crisis, countries that rely on imports to satisfy internal food demand began acquiring or leasing fertile land from other nations to cycle food back to their internal markets, while private investors saw food and biofuel production as a new and booming commodity.
This rush for fertile lands had a series of repercussions. Because of land grabbing, indigenous people and farmers started to get displaced, losing access to their only source of livelihood. Monocultural large estates started replacing smallscale farms, reducing the biodiversity of locally grown crops. And with the expansion of the biofuel market, land and water were increasingly utilized to cultivate nonfood crops. In many cases, this phenomenon had environmental impacts, such as deforestation, pollution and control over water resources.
The book, published by Editions Intervalles, came out in 2016.
Rondonopolis, Brazil. Eddi Valdo is a farmer part of a collective of 7 farmer called "Terra forte". They cultivate different kind of products sicne 1 year ago, sharing the land. The collective is based in the "Carlos Marighella" community. After many years of fighting the governmet give them the property of the land 11 years ago.
Siak, Sumatra, Indonesia. In Siak district a piece of forest was destroyed to expand a palm oil plantation. In the region of Riau 70% of forest were destroyed in order to produce palm oil.
Debre Zyit, Ethiopia. Jittu Otrhicolture International. Owned by Mr. Jans Prins, from the Netherland. In 2008 he has sold the company to the Saudi Sheik Al-Almoudi. Jittu Orthicolture has four farms in Ethiopia, exporting mostly in the middle eats and in the uk, producing fruits, vegetables and flowers. Workers in the bus taking back to the city of Debre Zyit the farmers.
Angelica, Brazil. A field ready for the sugar cane seeding in the Adecoagro industry that produce sugar and alcohol. Agroadeco is a corporation controlled by U.S. and argentine investments, is currently one of the leading companies in the production of food and renewable energy in South America. They are owner of 45.000 hectares just for the Angelica unit, and 130.000 hectares in the entire country producing sugar cane and coffee. The Angelica industry was opened in 2008, to process 4 tons of sugar cane and producing 240.000 ton of sugar and 170.000 liters of alcohol. 3000 people is now working there, but in 2014 will be 4000 people. In all the towns near the industry the population is tripled. For this industry they used technologies and policies to try to reduce the environmental and social impact of the their work, like a wide program of reforestation in the region.
Dubai, AGRAme, Middle East largest event on agricolture business, held in the World Trade Center of Dubai.
Region of Lhorombe, district of Lhosy, Madagascar. A family of local farmers portrayed outside their house. In the region of Lhorombe the Italian company Tozzi Green is developing a project of cultivation of jatropha on 6,000 hectares of land.
Lucas Verde do Rio, Brazil. A view of the field around the city. 50 years ago the state of Meto Grosso was completely coverde by the rain forest. Agriculture is one of strongest motivation for the deforestation in the Mato Grosso state. Lucas do rio verde is one of the center of soy production of Mato Grosso, the city born as a farmer community in the 70's, thanks to the agriculture boom is growing up year after year. The population grown from 22.000 in 2001 to 45.000 in 2010. The 70 % of landowners is brasilian the rest are foreign corporation.
Debre Zyit, Ethiopia. Jittu Otrhicolture International. Owned by Mr. Jans Prins, from the Netherland. In 2008 he has sold the company to the Saudi Sheik Al-Almoudi. Jittu Orthicolture has four farms in Ethiopia, exporting mostly in the middle eats and in the uk, producing fruits, vegetables and flowers. Packaging warehouse of the Jittu farm in Debre Zyit.
Lucas Verde do Rio, Brasil. A statue in the center of Lucas do Rio verde, the city is one of the center of soy and corn production of Mato Grosso, the city born as a farmer community in the 70's, thanks to the agriculture boom is growing up year after year. The population grown from 22.000 in 2001 to 45.000 in 2010. The 70 % of landowners is brasilian the rest are foreign corporation.
Cuiaba, Brasil. Sem terra Movememnt demonstration during international day of struggle against land grabbing. This day is the anniversary of the assassination of 91 MST by the federal police in Brasil by federal police during a pacific demonstration..The MST (landless farmers) was born in 1984, it now operates in 24 states of the country and involves a million and half people..Thanks to its struggles, 350,000 families have won land, while 150,000 are struggling in the camps. The INCRA, National Institute for Agrarian Reform, provides disturbing data: the 1, 6% of owners with properties in excess of one thousand acres have 46.8% of the total in the country, 51.4% property is classified as unproductive large estates, more than 133 million acres of land do not meet the productivity requirements and could be expropriated as established by the agrarian reform, according to the Constitution..The MST identifies what it believes to be unproductive rural land that does not meet its social function and occupies it, through a strategy of continuous and massive occupations throughout the entire national territory, afterwards moving to ascertain the legality of the occupations..Nevertheless, the process of concentration of landed property in Brazil continues unabated: in 2006, according to the latest landed property census, the land concentration actually increased. The fact that current Brazilian economic policy - specially as far as foreign exchange is concerned - banks on the existence of trade surpluses generated by the agro-export sector means that "the correlation of forces moves against agrarian reform" as a government policy.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mr. Ram Karuturi (CEO of Karuturi Agro Products PLC) in the center, and Mr. Birinder Singh (Executive Director of Karuturi), Indian investers in Ethiopia. Bangalore-based?food?company, one of the world's top 25 agri-businesses produce oil palm, sugar cane, rice, maize, cotton and roses in Bako, Gambella and Holeta..Ethiopia?is one of the world's largest recipients of humanitarian food and development assistance, but it has offered three million hectares of land to foreign corporations.
Bako, Ethiopia. The family of Kenasa Feysa in the center in the village of Tulusa, near Bako, just few meters from the Karuturi farm of Bako. Locel farmers in the are are complaining because Karuturi promised to build new facilities for the community, but they didn't attemted to do it. Moreover they are afraid of having their land taken away by the foreign investors.
Awassa, Ethiopia. Armed guard in the Elfora company from Saudi Arabia. In the background the left over of the wheat cropping. A private agro-industrial company of Midroc Ethiopia established in 1997 through the acquisition of eight livestock and meat processing plats. Elfora is engaged in the production of canned food, poultry products and various crops.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Commodities Exchange during trading session in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia's economy is one of the fastest growing in Africa - it is expected to expand by around 11% this year. Yet food security is still a major concern.
Delfin Albano, The Philippines. Raimondo Valdez and Merasol Valdez. In the background, what used to be their land. Their plot was grabbed by a Chinese company who then leased it to the Japanese bioethanol Greenfuture Innovation to produce bioethanol.
San Jose del Monte, The Philippines. Thelma Cartoleros, 57, is the leader of local farmer's community who moved in this area a few decades ago and are now under threat of eviction by a consortium of private investors, including Elly Levin, from Israel, Merlin Pacific from Canada and SM Land owner, Henry Sy, from China. The project is to develop a railway system, a mall, luxury condominia and other facilities for a total investment of 3,7 billion USD. The situation of this village, which inclused about 2000 people, is the symbol of the weakness of the land ownership system in the country. Farmers were promised a certificate of land ownership award (CLOA) by former president Aquino, but the opposition of land lord clan Araneta, who claims this land, has prevented this from happening, Now, the Araneta clan is hoping to the the development project approved, as the value of this land will increase manyfold.
Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky district, Kiev region, Ukraine. Sergey Slusarev, general manager for feed production in the control room at "NIVA Pereyaslavschiny" farm. They produce wheat, soy, rapeseed, barley and sunflower.
Pulau Padang island, Indonesia. Mr. Sutarno, Sungai Anak Kamal village chief. The village is in the Pulau Padang island, where in 2009 the PT Rapp company grab 41.205 hectares to produce industrial acacia to make paper. The company took 21.000 hectares to the villages. Mr Sutarno is fighting through institutional ways to get their land back.
Buol district, Sulawesi island, Indonesia. A view of the palm oil field of Hardaya company, that grab 22.700 hectares in Buol province. This land was used to produce different kind of fruits before the company arrival.
Land Inc.
Editions Intervalles, 2016
156 pages, 17 x 24 cm
Softcover
English and French editions
Preface by José Bové
The European Parliament, Strasburg, 2017
Cortona On The Move Festival, 2014
Publications on Geo France, Sunday Times Magazine, Io Donna, Marie Claire Italy, L’Espresso, Internazionale, Le Monde Hors-serie