May 22nd, 2009
Via Kenya’s Capital Business Journal, an article on Kenya’s plans to lease out about 100,000 acres of land to a Gulf state for agriculture at a time when the country is facing serious food shortages. As the report notes: “…The deal with the government of Qatar is similar to a model that has been widely […]
Read more »Outsourcing Food Production or Neocolonialism?
May 22nd, 2009
Via The Economist, an interesting look at the trend of rich food importers acquiring large tracts of poor countries’ farmland. As the article notes: EARLY this year, the king of Saudi Arabia held a ceremony to receive a batch of rice, part of the first crop to be produced under something called the King Abdullah […]
Read more »April 27th, 2009
Via The Economist, an interesting report on a dispute over Kuwait’s plans to invest in Cambodia’s agricultural sector. This follows a similar investment made last year by Qatar. As the article notes: IT SEEMED like the perfect match. Kuwait has a lot of money and needs to import food. Cambodia has a lot of fertile […]
Read more »Less Soil. More Hunger. More Conflict
April 24th, 2009
Via Scientific American, a stark report by Lester R. Brown on the concerns that food shortages & global farm wars could push the world into massive crisis. The summary points follow; complete article is below. Food scarcity and the resulting higher food prices are pushing poor countries into chaos. Such “failed states” can export disease, […]
Read more »April 21st, 2009
Via Stratfor (subscription required), an interesting report on China’s food security, namely its heavy investment in foreign food sources and high likelihood of continuing to do so in the future. As the article notes: “…China has no intention of investing in African farmlands to secure its food supply, Chinese Deputy Agriculture Minister Niu Dun said […]
Read more »China: The Hungry Dragon Looks Outward
April 21st, 2009
As reported by Stratfor (subscription required), China added agricultural investments to its “go outward” strategy in 2008, under which domestic businesses are encouraged to venture into foreign markets. As global food prices continue soaring, food security has catapulted to the top of Beijing’s priority list alongside energy and other key resources. As the article notes: […]
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