The news that one of the richest countries in the world has set its sights on La Palma for major land investment has prompted mixed reaction.
The island authorities revealed recently that senior representatives from the Al Dahra Agricultural Company – a major agribusiness firm specialising in the cultivation, production, and trading of human food commodities including rice, flour, fruits and vegetables – are due to visit the island to explore the possibility of cooperation agreements.
The company, which is known for its close ties with the government of the United Arab Emirates, owns and operates a large asset base including a land bank of 350 thousand acres and is keen to invest in prime agricultural sites, although it is not known if it intends to acquire large tracts of land in La Palma.
According to the island’s governing Cabildo, it has requested details of land currently not under cultivation and is interested in negotiating mid to long-term investments, possibly in the form of funding for farmers to produce for Al Dahra on such land.
Although welcomed by the local authorities as a strategic investment, the news has not gone down well with certain sectors who have criticised the lack of transparency surrounding the identification of land and have expressed fears that local farmers will be squeezed out of the market.
Political party Drago Canarias has called on the Cabildo to pull out of negotiations with the Emirates’ group and warned of “the risks of handing over land on La Palma to a multinational with a track record of land-grabbing and unsustainable practices in other countries”. The party adds further that signing over large areas of land would comprise the food sovereignty and security the island should be aiming for.
“Our small-scale farmers face many problems in trying to obtain land to farm, and favouring outside investors who are concerned primarily with their own economic and geopolitical interests will make things even more difficult for them” said Drago Canarias’ spokesperson in La Palma Sara Hernández.
