foreign investor in farming, and neighbors

    I read, with disappointment, the account of the situation where the local neighbors had been given cause for protest activities against a farm operated there by an investment company from the USA.  The circumstances consisted of crop management practices which were imposing economic losses, and potential health risks to the neighboring farmers, plus occupational risks to workers on that company farm.  Airplane-sprayed herbicides were implicated in those losses.  Neighbors cattle had gotten ill, or even died, and neighbors' crops had been damaged.

    There were charges made that the company farm staff chose to utilize chemicals that are illegal for use in a number of other countries such as USA.  Regulations baring such usage stems from identified health risks of those particular chemicals if used in open-air agriculture.  

    Also over past 1-2 years there has been a running controversy about specially created strains of crop breeds tailored to themselves be herbicide resistent, up to doses which would damage the prior, more widely used breeds.  

    It is  easy to conclude that those factors acting together with airplane method of dispersal, asks for trouble.  There are agent application techniques less prone to permitting dispensed agriculture chemical agents to drift across property lines into neighbors fields.  

    In earlier accounts in this forum, I had seen as hopeful signs the plans for investments in agriculture from a foreign commercial firm, Dominion, promising to improve the conditions for people living in that region of Kenya.  Furthermore it is an organization having a principle owner - - presumably able to set the tone of how that company's interactions, not only with its shareholders, but also neighbors living close to its operations in Kenya.  

    In addition to being disappointing, if true, damaging behavior by a corporate entity is also very unintelligent.  It does ruin the good will, and deserves to loose the good will, between the that company and the neighboring community folk.  No company can really afford to do this if hoping to have the economic operation to flourish long term.  

    Such a company as Dominion was described to be, having a majority owner at its helm, should be in a position to get to the bottom of this situation -- discovering wither true as charged or not, and if so, promptly correcting errors in behavior.  Being a good neighbor, acting truly according to the Biblical Golden Rule, means a lot.

Sincerely, with hope,
- - awebmech - -
Sat. 15 Dec. 2007