August 6th, 2009
Via The BBC, a report that farmland in sub-Saharan Africa is a hot bet among investors. As the article notes: “…Population increase, changes in eating habits and demand for bio-fuels are putting farmland at a premium worldwide. “And African farmland prices are the lowest in the world,” Susan Payne, chief executive Emergent Asset Management says. […]
Read more »African Farmland: Modern Day Monopoly Or The Final Frontier for Finding Alpha?
July 31st, 2009
Courtesy of Spiegel Online, a detailed report on the how governments and investment funds are buying up farmland in Africa and Asia to grow food — a profitable business, with a growing global population and rapidly rising prices. As the article notes: “…Every crisis has its winners. A group of them is sitting in the […]
Read more »July 28th, 2009
Via Public Radio International, a very balanced look at the trend towards outsourcing agriculture to developing nations: “…Some of the richest countries are buying large swatches of land in some of the poorest countries to plant crops — essentially outsourcing agriculture. Whether the crops go for fuel or food, the world’s rich countries are now […]
Read more »Arab States’ Global Reach: Smart Investing or ‘Neo-Colonialism’ ?
July 17th, 2009
Via Seed Daily, an article on the acquisition strategy of the Kuwait China Investment Company, a company partly owned by the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund which is preparing to join other Gulf states in buying up agricultural land in Asia, part of a global land grab to ensure food security. As the article notes: “…Unlike […]
Read more »July 12th, 2009
Via The Economist, an interesting report on a recent discreet deal under which some 16,800 square kilometres (6,180 square miles) of Sudanese wilderness will become the estate of a company from Abu Dhabi. As the article notes: The leasing agreement was signed by a company called Al Ain National Wildlife after an earlier failed attempt […]
Read more »Reaching Pay Dirt
June 21st, 2009
Via Foreign Policy In Focus, an interesting look at how the food crisis, partly characterized by unstable markets and low reserves, has led governments to seek measures to meet their food security needs more directly than through global trade. As the article notes: “…Governments and corporations looking to outsource food and energy more directly themselves […]
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