Madagascar, Daewoo and neocolonialism

What have Madagascar and South Korea got in common? On the face of it, nothing. The former is a country in development, the second is an economic power. One is in Africa, the other in Asia. The Malagasy have uncontaminated land. The Koreans lack cultivatable land. Madagascar has 28 inhabitants per square kilometre. South Korea has 493 inhabitants per square kilometre.

Two countries that are different from each other but that today have Daewoo in common as well as neocolonialism without capital. Tronchetti and Colaninno have been leading the way even abroad.
Once upon a time they gifted necklaces and shining stones to indigenous people in exchange for every type of good. Today not even that.
South Korea needs corn, palm oil and agricultural goods. Madagascar has land. Daewoo signed an agreement with the Malagasy government. The handing over of 1.3 million hectares of cultivatable land for 99 years. More than half the cultivatable land in the country (2.5 million hectares).
Image from The Financial Times
It’s all for FREE. In exchange, Daewoo is committed to taking on the Malagasy as peasants.

According to Mr Hong, a Daewoo manager: “It is land that is totally not developed, and uncontaminated. And we will provide work and make it cultivatable, and this is good for Madagascar.”
The produce of the 1.3 million hectares from Madagascar will be sent to South Korea for its needs and it is probable that not even a cob of maize will remain for the Malagasy.
Madagascar is part of the World Food Programme from which it receives food for 600,000 people who live at subsistence level. People on the bread line to which can be added thousands of small farmers and their families.
Destruction of forests in Madagascar - photo Foko -Madagascar
The 1.3 million hectares are mostly forests. They will be destroyed with severe effects on the climate. The Malagasy peasant has his land taken away from him, the food is sent abroad, his environment is destroyed. In exchange he can work for Daewoo. What luck!
Those who have resources have no money. Those who have money, buy resources. But what is money? Where does it come from? Guess. From the resources of those without money.
Africa has the greatest amount of uncultivated fertile land in the world and the greatest number of starving people. There must be a reason.

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