07/02/2013 (The Africa Report) - The fight between David and Goliath rolls on in Liberia as industrial agribusiness steamrolls over local communities.

Oil palm company Golden Veroleum, owned by US private equity fund Verdant Fund LP, has a 300,000ha concession.

In October local activists complained to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) that the company had cleared land without giving public notice.

Community leaders have been intimidated, and those talking to journalists arrested by local government officials.

"These villagers have been trying to get their point across since 2010," says Alfred Brownell, a lawyer from Green Advocates who is representing the communities.

"They have seen their drinking water diverted, they are now having trouble finding firewood and they no longer have land to farm.

"Their only option is to work for Golden Veroleum for $3.50 a day, minus deductions for food and taxes."

Another palm oil company, Malaysia's Sime Darby, delayed its operations last year after an RSPO complaint