Archive for November, 2009

Farmland In Developing Countries: Object Of Investors’ Fascination

Courtesy of BusinessWeek, a report on the how farmland in developing countries has become an unlikely object of investor fascination.  As the article notes: “…Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS) are each raising hundreds of millions of dollars for agriculture funds aimed at Africa and Latin America. Agribusinesses in the U.S. are leasing vast […]

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Conflicts of Scarcity: The Madagascar Model

Courtesy of The Economist, a review of the conflicts of scarcity and what is now referred to as the Madagascar Model and the sobering likelihood of increased pressures related to such in 2010: “…In the world’s earliest written legal code, dating from 1790BC, Hammurabi, the king of Babylon, laid down rules governing the maintenance of […]

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Does The New Global Land Rush = Agro Imperialism?

Courtesy of The New York Times Magazine, an interesting look at what they call agro-imperialism.  As the article notes: “…Dr. Robert Zeigler, an eminent American botanist, flew to Saudi Arabia in March for a series of high-level discussions about the future of the kingdom’s food supply. Saudi leaders were frightened: heavily dependent on imports, they […]

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A New Code Of Conduct for Land Buyers In Africa?

Courtesy of The Guardian, a report that new guidelines are under development that could limit aggressive moves by China, South Korea and Gulf states who have been buying vast tracts of agricultural land.  As the article notes: “…A scramble for African farmland has in recent years seen the equivalent of Italy’s entire arable land hoovered […]

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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.