Archive for March, 2021

Does Japan Need to Control Land Purchases by Foreigners?
March 23rd, 2021

Via The Diplomat, an article on a debate over the national security implications of foreign land ownership in Japan: In recent years, the Japanese government has sought to draft and enact new legislation to regulate the acquisition and use of Japanese land with implications for national security. Currently, there are no Japanese laws or regulations […]

Read more »
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Does Japan Need to Control Land Purchases by Foreigners?

Watch Out World: China Cannot Feed Itself
March 16th, 2021

Via Newsweek, an article on China’s food security issues and what that could mean for the global farms race: Consider U.S. farmers happy. They are exporting record volumes of products to China. Shipments of soybeans, corn and pork are bringing smiles back to the American heartland. Or, to put this another way, Beijing is effectively […]

Read more »
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Watch Out World: China Cannot Feed Itself

Africa’s Land Rush
March 15th, 2021

Via Oxfam, commentary on Africa’s land rush: Remember the global riots over food set off by sharp spikes in commodity prices in 2008? The biofuel hype as THE solution to dirty oil? And the financial crisis that drove investors to look for alternative assets to invest their dollars, euros and pounds? As these developments came […]

Read more »
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Africa’s Land Rush

A Million Hectares Of Papuan Forest Licensed For Clearing
March 8th, 2021

Via Mongabay, a report on a plan to clear millions of hectares of forest in Papua New Guinea: Natural forests spanning 1.1 million hectares (2.7 million acres) in Indonesia’s Papua region have been slated for conversion, mostly for oil palm plantations, according to a new report by a coalition of NGOs. For now, more than […]

Read more »
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on A Million Hectares Of Papuan Forest Licensed For Clearing

  | 
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.