Civil society organisations* from Latin America, Europe and around the world have issued an open letter calling on the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation to reject a proposal to finance Calyx Agro, a company that acquires farmland in Latin America on behalf of wealthy foreign investors. Calyx Agro is a subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus, one of the world’s biggest commodity traders. The World Bank is considering a loan of up US$30 million to help Calyx Agro expand its operations in Latin America.

The letter also denounces the Bank for its on-going support to other leading investors involved in land grabbing around the world.

The complete letter is available in English, Spanish and French here: http://farmlandgrab.org/post/view/18886

Media inquiries can be directed to:

Devlin Kuyek
GRAIN
Tel: +1 514 5717702 (Montreal)
Email: [email protected]

Giulia Franchi
Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale (Rome)
Tel: +39 06 7826855
Mob: +39 339 7077481
Email: [email protected]

* The signatories to the letter are:
Acción Ecológica, Ecuador
Acción por la Biodiversidad, Argentina
Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale (CRBM), Italy
Centro Ecológico, Brazil
COECOCEIBA-Amigos de la Tierra Costa Rica
Confédération Paysanne, France
Corporate Europe Observatory
Focus on the Global South
Friends of the Earth International
GRAIN
La Via Campesina
Land Research Action Network (LRAN)
Red de Coordinación en Biodiversidad, Costa Rica
REDES-AT, Uruguay
SOBREVIVENCIA, Amigos de la Tierra Paraguay