Archive for October, 2010

The New Land Rush: The Selling Out of America’s Farmers?

Via The PPJ Gazette, a pointed opinion piece detailing the dismay with which some Americans regard the purchase of American farmland by overseas investors: “The economy continues its slide.  Unemployment remains high, more manufacturing moves overseas with each passing day, the rate of home foreclosures makes the news every hour.  But there is a seemingly […]

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African Farms Lure Private Investors

Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal, an interesting look at the continued investment interest in African agriculture.  As the article notes: “…Mounting concern over security of food supplies is spurring a wave of private-sector investment in Africa that many hope will put it at the center of a green revolution. Mima Nedelcovych hopes the 20,000-hectare […]

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The Hungry Dragon

Via The New York Times, an article on the global agricultural geopolitics surrounding China’s bid for Canada’s Potash Corporation.  As the report notes: “…Are the Chinese coming? That’s the important question now being asked in Saskatchewan, a prairie province in Canada. It is also the question of the moment on Wall Street. Saskatchewan is home […]

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The Real Oil-For-Food Swap: Gulf States Buy Farmland Overseas

Courtesy of The Financial Times, a report on the Gulf states’ efforts to acquire farmland overseas.  As the article notes: “…The import-dependent Gulf states were left facing a troubling question when a food crisis sent the prices of staples such as rice and wheat soaring two years ago: how could they secure food for their […]

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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.