January 31st, 2022
Via Dim Sums, commentary on China’s ownership of U.S. farmland: There was one new Chinese investment in U.S. farmland in 2020, according to the USDA’s latest report on foreign farmland holdings–not exactly a “land grab.” The USDA report said 194,179 acres of farmland held by “China” was valued at $1.86 billion at the end of December 2020. […]
Read more »A Russia-Ukraine War Could Ripple Across Africa and Asia
January 28th, 2022
Courtesy of Foreign Policy, an article on how food price spikes and revolutions could emerge if Ukrainian grain deliveries are disrupted: With some of the most fertile land on Earth, Ukraine has been known as Europe’s breadbasket for centuries. Its fast-growing agricultural exports—grains, vegetable oils, and a host of other products—are crucial to feeding populations from […]
Read more »January 26th, 2022
Via Phnom Penh Post, an article on firms purchasing Cambodian agricultural land: Longfruiter Anlong Veng Oddor Meanchey Agriculture Park Co Ltd has invested $51 million in the cultivation of bananas and fruits in Anlong Veng district, Oddar Meanchey province to boost exports, especially to the Chinese market, according to Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries […]
Read more »What Happened To Land Grabs In Africa?
October 14th, 2021
Via Africa As A Country, commentary on why – more than a decade since the surge in large-scale land acquisitions worldwide – many land deals remain in limbo: Violence against land rights defenders in Uganda and anti-mine protesters in South Africa. Oil palm plantations razing forests in Liberia and the island of São Tomé. Industrial waste from sugarcane plantations polluting the […]
Read more »October 8th, 2021
Via Mongabay, an article on a land grab in Cambodia’s Koh Kong province that is taking land from protected areas: In July, conservationists in Cambodia sounded the alarm over a regulation that saw eight protected areas in Koh Kong province collectively lose territory twice the size of Phnom Penh, the country’s capital. Officials said the move, […]
Read more »Climate Change Will Alter Where Many Crops Are Grown
August 31st, 2021
Via The Economist, an article on how climate change will alter where many crops are grown, likely introducing new tensions over arable land: Tom Eisnehauer remembers driving through Manitoba, a province in central Canada, more than a decade ago. Surrounding his car were fields of cold-weather crops, such as wheat, peas and canola (rape). Dense […]
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