February 23rd, 2012
Via The BBC, a look at the impact of large-scale land acquisitions on Africa’s farmers: “Land grabs” are now one of the biggest issues in Africa. Over the past few years, companies and foreign governments have been leasing large areas of land in some of Africa’s poorest countries. Land deals as % of agricultural area […]
Read more »Potential Of African Land Grabs To Cause Conflict
February 13th, 2012
Via African Agriculture, an article on the potential of land grabs to cause conflict in Africa. As the report notes: The stampede by wealthy states for arable land across Africa and other developing regions could trigger a series of conflicts if governments fail to protect the rights of their people, two recent studies on land […]
Read more »February 3rd, 2012
Via China Dialogue, a look at how the financial crisis caused investors to flock to agricultural assets, and how the associated risks may help drive a more sustainable approach. As the article notes: How agricultural land is owned, what is grown on it, and by whom, will probably determine much of the next century’s politics, […]
Read more »The 21st-Century Land Rush
January 28th, 2012
Via The Utne Reader, a look at how fears of violence and a hunger for profit are sparking a worldwide run on farmland. As the article notes: A 21st-century land rush is on. Driven by fear and lured by promises of high profits, foreign investors are scooping up vast tracts of farmland in some of […]
Read more »January 16th, 2012
Via The Sydney Morning Herald, a report on China’s increasing tendency to look abroad to satisfy its growing appetite. As the article notes: CHINESE companies have now acquired farmland roughly equivalent to the size of Melbourne as the country looks abroad to feed its population. About 8000 square kilometres of farmland around the world are […]
Read more »The Hungry Dragon – The Zambezi Valley: China’s First Agricultural Colony?” Fiction or Fact?
January 12th, 2012
Via China In Africa, an interesting report on China’s involvement in Mozambique and a careful review of what is real – and not real – about claims related to land grabbing. As the article notes: More than four years ago, Loro Horta, then a Ph.D. candidate at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) […]
Read more »