From Africa’s Palms

Aljazeera’s People and Power TV program released a video on the social and environmental consequences of oil palm plantations in Cameroon, where the government has been trying to attract the palm oil industry by offering a number of incentives. For example, in 2010, the Cameroonian government struck the outlines of a deal with a US-based enterprise called Herakles Farms, granting it exclusive use of a biodiversity hotspot in south-western Cameroon - an area covering 73,000 hectares of pristine forest with communities and farmland inside - to start plantations. Impacts are already starting to be felt. As Samuel Nguiffo from the Centre for Environment & Development says in the video, “Our first priority should be to support small farmers to grow the crops that they will be eating… and we need our lands for that”. See full video (in English) here:
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2015/02/africa-palms-150223110509150.html