Uganda farmers battle palm oil Goliaths for land

John Muyisa shows palm seeds in Bumanji, in the district of Kalangala on May 21, 2015. International groups claim land grabs by palm oil giants in Uganda and other countries across Africa, lead to rights violations and environmental degradation.[PHOTO:AFP]

Even before the bulldozers arrived life was tough for John Muyiisa, scratching a living from a rented farm on Lake Victoria’s Kalangala island.

Now he has almost nothing and is seeking compensation in Ugandan courts from the palm oil plantations he blames for seizing the land and destroying his livelihood. As land grabs by local firms linked to multinationals drive small-holder farmers out of business, a rights group behind a February bid for compensation by 100 farmers says rights violations and environmental degradation are also at stake.