Qatar

Gulf nations now are quietly scouring the globe for rich farmland to rent or buy outright.

Talks are on with investors from Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia. 25,000 Punjab villages will be affected.

The deputy leader of the Democratic Left Party (DSP) Turkey has stated that Turkey possesses some great advantages in agriculture, despite the major problems that remain in place in the sector, but emphasized that it is a mistake to sell agricultural land to foreigners.

Once committed largely to perceived safe-haven investments in the United States, Gulf nations are now looking to send their petrodollar surpluses towards a more exotic global destination: Southeast Asian farmland.

Viet Nam and Qatar have agreed to establish a US$1 billion petroleum and agriculture development fund, enabling Viet Nam to grow crops and export farm product.

8Natural gas exporter Qatar and Vietnam have set up a US$1 billion fund to invest in sectors including agriculture. Sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority will provide 90% of the fund's equity, Gulf Times reported, citing Phung The Long, Vietnam's Ambassador to Doha. "We have exchange ideas about setting up an animal farm for breeding cattle and lambs," The Long said.

Gas exporter Qatar and Vietnam have set up a $1 billion fund (56 million pounds) to invest in sectors including agriculture, a Qatar-based newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Qatar and Vietnam have signed an agreement to set up a joint fund with a capital of $1bn to facilitate investments in both countries. Phung The Long, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Vietnam in Doha, said Qatar’s contribution to the fund, through Qatar Investment Authority, would be $900mn and the balance by Vietnam.

As the increase in oil prices continue to help boost the income of Persian Gulf nations, Turkey is becoming a magnet for Gulf-based investors aiming to establish strategic food reserves

A bilateral agricultural venture between Cambodia and Kuwait proposed during an official visit by Kuwait's prime minister left Cambodia very positive about future cooperation, Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun said yesterday.

Kuwait is eyeing Cambodian farmland for investment in agriculture to produce food supply for the state, a minister said yesterday.

Dr Kayan Jaff, the FAO’s regional chief, has warned that only a multi-billion dollar investment in agriculture will curb soaring supermarket prices — urging governments to buy up farmland in regions like the Horn of Africa and Asia.