Food A Weapon In New Age of Starvation

Via Devex, a look at how the wars in Gaza and Ukraine are normalizing the weaponization of food: For several months, the Biden Administration has stored some 60,000 metric tons of wheat in holding warehouses in the Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates. The food — originally destined for millions of hungry Yemeni civilians in […]

Read more »




Who’s Behind the Destruction of Brazil’s Cerrado?

Via Grist, a look at how some of the world’s largest pension funds bet big on Brazilian farmland. Communities, and the climate, are paying the price. In August 2020, Maria do Espirito Santo was returning from her family’s field in the savanna of northeast Brazil when she saw smoke billowing from her thatched hut. Do […]

Read more »


Africa Beyond Russia’s Grains Partnerships

Via Eurasia Review, commentary on Russia’s grain supply to African nations which is viewed as a soft bait (i) to reinforce the existing time-tested relationships with Africa and (ii) to solicit endorsement for the unprovoked war in Ukraine: In a speech delivered, 20th March 2023, during the interparliamentary conference ‘Russia-Africa’ held in Moscow, President Vladimir […]

Read more »




UAE In Talks to Buy More African Land to Aid Food Security

Via Arabian Gulf Business Insight, a report on the UAE’s plans to buy more African land to aid food security: 14 farmland deals in pipeline Increase in pace of acquisitions Food security high on policy agenda The UAE has 14 land acquisition deals in the pipeline, mainly in Africa, as it looks to keep food […]

Read more »


The World Is Quietly Losing the Land It Needs to Feed Itself

Via Bloomberg, a report on how land degradation is a growing problem for not just climate change but food and water security: The greatest threats to our existence today are caused by human activity rather than nature acting alone, according to a recent United Nations report. Many people are familiar with human contribution to climate change […]

Read more »




Chinese Ownership of U.S. Farmland, Locations Raise Concerns

Via Terra Daily, an article on concerns over Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland: Foreign investment in the nation’s farmland has raised concern among U.S. lawmakers and governmental officials, particularly after reports about Chinese companies buying land near military bases. For example, a Chinese company bought farmland in 2021 for acorn-milling facility near an Air Force […]

Read more »



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.