Archive for March, 2011

African Land, Up For Grabs

Via Anyuak Media, a look at recent foreign investment into Ethiopian farmland: “…Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi, a citizen of Saudi Arabia, spends his time shuttling between Riyadh and Ethiopia, where he was born in a village 64 years ago. The son of a Yemeni father and Ethiopian mother, Al Amoudi boasts an estimated […]

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A Bushel of Concerns: Middle East’s Investments in African Farmlands Are Rooted in Food Security Fears

Via Knowledge@Wharton, a report that recent Arab unrest has only doubled the efforts of wealthy Gulf countries and some Asian countries to launch ambitious programs to buy farmland around the world, to secure food production.  As the article notes: “…Before the January protests that ended his 30-year-rule, the fiercest unrest to challenge Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak […]

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Ethiopia’s “Deal Of The Century” In The Global Farms Race

Via The Guardian, a report on international efforts to lease Ethiopian land: “It’s the deal of the century: £150 a week to lease more than 2,500 sq km (1,000 sq miles) of virgin, fertile land – an area the size of Dorset – for 50 years. Bangalore-based food company Karuturi Global says it had not […]

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Brazil Tightens Law Restricting Foreign Acquisition Of Land

Via MercoPress, a report that the Brazilian government is tightening a law that restricts the amount of land foreigners can buy. The decree prohibits non-Brazilians from buying controlling shares of companies that own vast tracts of territory in the country.  As the article notes: “…The action is aimed at preventing foreign investors from circumventing the […]

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Betting The Farm In Canada And Winning?

Courtesy of Macleans, an interesting look at the rise of investor interest in Canadian farmland.  As the article notes: “…The great plains of the Prairies grew the nation, fed the British Empire and fuelled our literary canon. Now the world’s breadbasket has a new role in a growing number of investment portfolios. Investors are buying […]

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The Hungry Dragon

Via Palm Oil HQ, a report that China’s China’s Beidahuang Land Cultivation Group, one of the country’s leading vehicles for the purchase of foreign agricultural properties, will buy 200,000 hectares of farmland overseas this year, with Latin America and South East Asia as the target areas.  As the article notes: “…The move is a sign […]

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About This Blog And Its Author
Seeds Of A Revolution is committed to defining the disruptive geopolitics of the global Farms Race.  Due to the convergence of a growing world population, increased water scarcity, and a decrease in arable land & nutrient-rich soil, a spike of international investment interest in agricultural is inevitable and apt to bring a heretofore domestic industry into a truly global realm.  Whether this transition involves global land leases or acquisitions, the fundamental need for food & the protectionist feelings this need can give rise to is highly likely to cause such transactions to move quickly into the geopolitical realm.  It is this disruptive change, and the potential for a global farms race, that Seeds Of A Revolution tracks, analyzes, and forecasts.

Educated at Yale University (Bachelor of Arts - History) and Harvard (Master in Public Policy - International Development), Monty Simus has long held a keen interest in natural resource policy and the geopolitical implications of anticipated stresses in the areas of freshwater scarcity, biodiversity reserves & parks, and farm land.  Monty has lived, worked, and traveled in more than forty countries spanning Africa, China, western Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Southeast & Central Asia, and his personal interests comprise economic development, policy, investment, technology, natural resources, and the environment, with a particular focus on globalization’s impact upon these subject areas.  Monty writes about freshwater scarcity issues at www.waterpolitics.com and frontier investment markets at www.wildcatsandblacksheep.com.