Betting the farm
- Fortune/CNN
- 10 June 2009
As world population expands, the demand for arable land should soar. At least that's what George Soros, Lord Rothschild, and other investors believe.
As world population expands, the demand for arable land should soar. At least that's what George Soros, Lord Rothschild, and other investors believe.
African nations are becoming more cautious in selling farmland to foreign investors, with governments paying closer attention to deals that could lead to social unrest, AGRA says
What we are witnessing in countries like Ethiopia today is an extreme form of the banana republic syndrome.
A number of Gulf states have expressed interest in livestock and rice farming in Thailand to secure food supplies, a Thai official said on Monday. "The countries involved could be Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar or the UAE," he added.
A flurry of announced international purchases of grain-producing acreage sparks debate about their merits
Abdullah Alireza, the Saudi minister of Commerce and Industry, talked about farming abroad in a recent visit to Seattle, where he addressed a private gathering of local business people.
"Saudi Arabia is increasingly looking for agriculture investment opportunities abroad, mostly in Africa," reports the US mission in Riyadh in May 2009
Since details emerged of Saudi Arabia’s plans to ensure supplies of wheat, rice, corn, soya beans and alfalfa through overseas agricultural investments, officials have insisted that they intended the programme to be private-sector led.
Saudi agricultural company Tabuk Agricultural Development Co has started preparations to invest in food production abroad, driving up its stock.
A 23-member delegation composed of government and private sector representatives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) headed by its Minister of Agriculture was recently on a mission here to explore investment opportunities in agriculture.
CNN's John Defterios takes a look at how Middle Eastern countries are scouring the globe for farmland.
The Philippine agriculture department has assured that the government’s bid to attract foreign investments to farm ventures will not compromise the country’s food security and self-sufficiency targets.