The Secret Sale Of A Country
July 6th, 2011

Via Farmland Grab, a pointer to a very interesting article in The Times examining how foreign companie, governments and individuals investing in agriculture, biofuels and forestry have leased or purchased at least 2.6 million hectares in South Sudan, in the most fertile parts of the country.  As the article notes:

Jarch Management has entered into a joint venture with local company to develop 800 000 ha in oil-rich Unity State. Photo: The Times

“…Two of the biggest and most controversial deals involve US firms. According to document seen by The Times, Texas-based Nile Trading and Development paid just £17,000 for a 49-year lease of 600 000 hectares with an option to increase to 1 million hectares. New York’s Jarch Management has entered into a joint venture with a local company, Leac for Agriculture and Investment, run by the son of a notorious warlord turned deputy army commander, Paulito Matip, to develop up to 800 000 ha in oil-rich Unity State…”


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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.