Archive for October, 2011

Are Foreign Investors Colonising Africa?

Via Al Jazeera, a report on how new economic powers India and China are being accused of buying land cheaply and uprooting indigenous communities.  As the article notes: “…Indian, Chinese and U.S. companies are among many inking land-investment deals in Africa, including Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Sudan, Mali, and Mozambique. According to a study by the […]

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The Smart Money Is Betting On The Pakistani Farm

Via Pakistan’s Express Tribune, an article on investment in Pakistan’s agricultural sector: The headlines may be screaming about violence and extremism but the smart money is betting, very quietly, on Pakistani agriculture. From international venture capitalists to global and local conglomerates to private equity firms, there has been a small but growing trend towards investing […]

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South Sudan: The Scramble for Land

Courtesy of Black Star News, an article on the scramble for land in South Sudan: As the United States celebrates Columbus Day and the legacy of one of the biggest land grabs in history, another massive land grab is unfolding on the African continent, mired in secrecy and spearheaded by hedge funds, financial speculators and […]

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The Hungry Dragon: The Dragon’s Appetite for Soy Stokes Brazilian Protectionism

Courtesy of The Financial Times, a report of the fear arising over Chinese investment in Brazil’s agricultural sector: Few subjects are likely to raise hackles more quickly in Brazil than the idea of foreigners owning its natural resources. “The Chinese have bought Africa and now they’re trying to buy Brazil”, stormed Antônio Delfim Netto, a […]

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The New East India Companies?

Via Outlook India, an interesting article looking at the impact of Indian companies acquiring millions of hectares in Africa: “…Reports of Indian firms farming large tracts of land acquired in faraway countries like Uruguay and Madagascar have so far been convincingly sold as success stories showcasing an emerging India flexing its economic muscle. But there […]

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Speculating With Lives: How Global Investors Make Money Out of Hunger

Courtesy of Spiegel Online, a detailed look at the financial markets’ discovery of the huge opportunities presented by agricultural commodities and the consequences of speculators driving up food prices globally: “…The room in which the world’s food is distributed looks everything but appetizing. Bits of paper and disposable cups litter the trading floor at the […]

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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.