Archive for August, 2009

The Hungry Dragon: Little Appetite For Latin America

Courtesy of The Guardian, an interesting look at how resource-hungry China has so far passed over investing in high-priced farmlands of South America in favor of Africa, with its less developed commodities markets, greater need for financing and open labor laws.  As the article notes: “…China is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on efforts […]

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Global Land Grabs – A Commentary

Via AlterNet, an interesting commentary on the trend – over the past six months — of big players in the global economy have grabbed 50 million acres of arable land, from Africa to Southeast Asia.  As the article notes: “…Investment banks, sovereign wealth funds and other barely regulated financial entities in search of fat paydays […]

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The Backlash of Global Landgrabbing

Via The Independent, a report on the “new breed of colonialism” rampaging across the world, with rich nations buying up the natural resources of developing countries that can ill afford to sell.  As the article notes: “…Thousand of protesters took to the streets, waving the orange flags of the opposition. Before long, looting began. Buildings […]

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Africa: Hot Bet For Land Investors

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. […]

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About This Blog And Its Author
Seeds Of A Revolution is committed to defining the disruptive geopolitics of the global Farms Race.  Due to the convergence of a growing world population, increased water scarcity, and a decrease in arable land & nutrient-rich soil, a spike of international investment interest in agricultural is inevitable and apt to bring a heretofore domestic industry into a truly global realm.  Whether this transition involves global land leases or acquisitions, the fundamental need for food & the protectionist feelings this need can give rise to is highly likely to cause such transactions to move quickly into the geopolitical realm.  It is this disruptive change, and the potential for a global farms race, that Seeds Of A Revolution tracks, analyzes, and forecasts.

Educated at Yale University (Bachelor of Arts - History) and Harvard (Master in Public Policy - International Development), Monty Simus has long held a keen interest in natural resource policy and the geopolitical implications of anticipated stresses in the areas of freshwater scarcity, biodiversity reserves & parks, and farm land.  Monty has lived, worked, and traveled in more than forty countries spanning Africa, China, western Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Southeast & Central Asia, and his personal interests comprise economic development, policy, investment, technology, natural resources, and the environment, with a particular focus on globalization’s impact upon these subject areas.  Monty writes about freshwater scarcity issues at www.waterpolitics.com and frontier investment markets at www.wildcatsandblacksheep.com.