September 19th, 2011
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 »Africa For Sale?
September 19th, 2011
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 »September 9th, 2011
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 »Is South Sudan’s Largest Land Deal a Land Grab?
September 9th, 2011
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 »September 2nd, 2011
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 »Global Investors: Trading Hunger Or Seeking Capitalistic Efficiency?
September 1st, 2011
Via de Spiegel, an interesting report on the the consequences of the financial markets’ discovery of the huge opportunities presented by agricultural commodities. As the article notes: The room in which the world’s food is distributed looks everything but appetizing. Bits of paper and disposable cups litter the trading floor at the Chicago Board of[…]
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