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Uganda: Oil palm plantations
Wilmar International, one of the largest oilseeds corporations in the world is developing palm oil plantations in biodiverse islands off the coast of Lake Victoria, Uganda. The project is a partnership of Wilmar with the Government of Uganda, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Kenyan oilseeds company Bidco. The first phase of the project was completed in 2011, and despite a number of social and environmental problems raised, the second phase of the project is currently going ahead. The second phase will expand palm oil plantations onto several more islands. The project is being promoted as a poverty-reducing endeavour, yet it is causing displacement, food insecurity and deforestation. The Ugandan Government’s willingness to allow foreign companies access to Ugandan land, and forest, is leading to the displacement of local communities and the destruction of their traditional way of life. The large-scale handover of the land they depend on threatens their livelihoods and infringes their basic human rights.