Archive for May, 2012

Land Grabbers: Africa’s Hidden Revolution

Via The Guardian, a look at the impact of the trend that vast swaths of Africa are being bought up by oligarchs, sheikhs and agribusiness corporations: Employees of Saudi Star work in a rice paddy in Gambella, Ethiopia. The government wants to resettle thousands of families away from fertile land. Photograph: Jenny Vaughan/AFP/Getty Images Omot […]

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Arab States ‘Must Invest In Central Asian Farmland’

Via The National, an article on the need for further investment in Central Asian farmland.  As the report notes: Arab states should invest in Central Asian farmland to help to secure their future food supplies, a senior Arab League official said today. Dr Mohammed Al Twaijri said Central Asia could be a better option than […]

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Great Overseas Resource Rush

Via Zawya, a detailed look at the great overseas resource rush: Saudi Arabia and the UAE are among the top four countries on a massive investment spree to acquire agricultural resources. A new report by the LAND Matrix group – an amalgamation of global think-tanks – looks at how rich countries are scouring for land […]

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International Land Deals: Who Is Investing And Where?

Courtesy of The Guardian, a look at a new global database on more than 1,000 land deals covering an area roughly half the size of western Europe: Workers at a palm oil plantation in Ethiopia. The data shows that east Africa has the highest concentration of recent land deal investments. Photograph: José Cendon/Getty Images Over […]

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The Hungry Dragon: China Land Grab Claims ‘Exaggerated’

Via Agrimoney, an analysis of China’s overseas agricultural acquisitions: Claims of Chinese “land grabs” in Africa, to grow food for importing, have been overstated – for now – although “this could be a longer term motivation”, Standard Chartered said. China, a county with 9% of the world’s farmland, has attracted a string of negative headlines […]

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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.