Via China Dialogue, another look at the suspicious response to Huang Nubo’s bid to buy a chunk of Iceland’s wilderness and how it may reflect the dilemma Beijing’s expansive growth strategy poses with indebted western nations. As the article notes: “…Winds sweep across a highland plateau featuring little but coarse grass and volcanic rock. Dirty […]
Read more »Via MarketWatch, a report on continued investor interest in farmland: With food prices relatively strong even during recent market turmoil, investors remain keen for exposure to agriculture. One popular theme: investing in land. Bringing more land under cultivation is crucial to meeting global food demand, as crop yields stagnate. From 1990 to 2007, farmers squeezed […]
Read more »Via International Rivers, a report on the impact that land and water “grabs” may have upon people in Africa: “…The Horn of Africa has been in the headlines for months now as famine and starvation spread across the drought-ravaged region. Yet this troubled province is simultaneously seeing a dramatic transfer of arable lands to foreign […]
Read more »Via Agrimoney, a report that Agrifirma Brazil, the well-connected farmland investment company, is investigating opportunities outside South America after placing most of its Brazilian agriculture operations into a joint venture with private equity heavyweight. As the article notes: “…Agrifirma – whose backers include Lord Rothschild, which is advised by commodities investor Jim Rogers and has […]
Read more »Via Think Africa Press, a new study alleges that a land deal threatens local people in Central Equatoria, South Sudan: 50 million hectares of land, an area twice the size of the UK, have been acquired by foreign companies or governments in Africa over the last few years. From Brazil to China to Saudi Arabia, […]
Read more »Via Ria Novosti, an interesting report that North Korea is planning to rent farm land in Russia’s Far East: A delegation from North Korea, which is facing severe food shortages, has held talks with authorities of the Amur region in Russia’s Far East on leasing land to grow vegetables and grain, a regional official said […]
Read more »