In 2008, the world food system began to crumble. Yet rich countries, threatened by starvation, have begun buying and leasing fertile land in developing countries.
Investors have set their sights on Africa, which holds 60% of the world’s arable land.
In Mali, 75 percent of the population are farmers, but wealthy, land-hungry countries like China and Saudi Arabia lease Mali’s land and put vast tracts of it under cultivation.
Many Malian farmers do not welcome these efforts, seeing them as yet another manifestation of imperialism. When Mali went through a military coup, developers balked. But can farmers in Mali address food shortages and escape poverty on their own terms?
During the period of decolonization, Africa became self-sufficient between 1966 and 1970, exporting about 1.3 million tons of food annually. Today, Africa imports 25 percent of its food.
