While Africa – Asia Confidential (subscription required) is reporting that South Korea is negotiating the acquisition of 100,000 hectares of farmland with the Tanzanian government (and trying to avoid a repeat of the crisis caused when Korean conglomerate Daewoo tried to secure 1.3 million ha. of land in Madagascar last year and helped precipitate a […]
Read more »Via Google News, a report on the activities of Swedish company Black Earth Farming (BEF) which – since 2006 – has bought 300,000 hectares (740,000 acres) of Russian farmland. As the article notes: “…deep in the quiet, rolling landscapes of southwest Russia, it is not the seductive power of black gold that has brought foreign […]
Read more »Courtesy of Desertification, an interesting summary of the politics of perceived agricultural “land grabs” in Pakistan. As the report notes: “…One of the lingering effects of the food price crisis of 2007–08 on the world food system is the proliferating acquisition of farmland in developing countries by other countries seeking to ensure their food supplies. […]
Read more »Courtesy of The Earth Policy Institute, a further sobering look at the politics of food scarcity, water scarcity, and the ongoing global farms race. As the report notes: “In early 2008, Saudi Arabia announced that, after being self-sufficient in wheat for over 20 years, the non-replenishable aquifer it had been pumping for irrigation was largely […]
Read more »Via The Asia Times Online, a thoughtful analysis of China’s interest and investment into African agriculture in recent months. The report argues that while China has invested immense sums in African agriculture, it appears that – at least thus far – the majority of these funds have not gone directly to securing land leases and […]
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