Archive for January, 2012

The 21st-Century Land Rush

Via The Utne Reader, a look at how fears of violence and a hunger for profit are sparking a worldwide run on farmland.  As the article notes: A 21st-century land rush is on. Driven by fear and lured by promises of high profits, foreign investors are scooping up vast tracts of farmland in some of […]

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The Hungry Dragon: China Looks Abroad To Satisfy Its Growing Appetite

Via The Sydney Morning Herald, a report on China’s increasing tendency to look abroad to satisfy its growing appetite.  As the article notes: CHINESE companies have now acquired farmland roughly equivalent to the size of Melbourne as the country looks abroad to feed its population. About 8000 square kilometres of farmland around the world are […]

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The Hungry Dragon – The Zambezi Valley: China’s First Agricultural Colony?” Fiction or Fact?

Via China In Africa, an interesting report on China’s involvement in Mozambique and a careful review of what is real – and not real – about claims related to land grabbing.  As the article notes: More than four years ago, Loro Horta, then a Ph.D. candidate at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) […]

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Ethiopia: A World Champion Of “Land Grabbing”?

Courtesy of The Ethiopian Times, a report on the impact of Ethiopian land being leased to agro-industry investors on very long terms and below market rates.  As the article notes: Ethiopia is the world champion of “land grabbing” – the practice of renting out vast expanses of farmland to local and, in particular, foreign investors. […]

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Latin America: The Fat Of The Land

Via Farmland Grab, an article on international investors’ thoughts on South America: Latin American farmland is increasingly a target for risk-tolerant institutional investors who want to take advantage of rising commodity and land prices. But it is a complex investment proposition that requires specialist agricultural and local knowledge. Demand for food is increasing with a […]

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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.