Seeds of A Revolution
Defining The Disruptive Geopolitics Of The Global Farms Race

Archive for March, 2011

Gulf States Look Beyond Their Shores For Agricultural Investments
March 9th, 2011

Via Gulf News, a report on how Gulf states are following in the footsteps of China and looking beyond their shores to make heavy investments in agriculture.  As the article notes: “…Less than 40 years ago the UAE was populated by small local communities who lived satisfactorily off the desert land. Their meals consisted mostly […]

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Global Land Grabs: Investments, Risks and Legacies
March 3rd, 2011

Via Development Journal, a scholarly analysis of the global wave of land grabbing by the Land Research Action Network. According to the report, the current trend of investments is triggered by the interrelated crises in food, finance, energy and climate that have been spurred by decades of corporate driven globalization, neo-liberal policy regimes and natural […]

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Growing Profits in African Agriculture
March 3rd, 2011

Via TradeInvest Africa, a look at private investment in Africa’s agriculture: “…International investors who previously avoided Africa’s agriculture are now looking at the sector. What has changed? There is a growing interest in African agriculture, not only from private equity investors with a traditional focus on Africa, but also from investors who have not historically […]

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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.

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