Investment in the agriculture sector is currently problematic due to the international financial crisis; last year’s interest in buying up land or companies in this sector has melted away.
Saudi Arabia's Hail Agricultural Development Co (Hadco) said on Monday it would look at investing in Turkey and Kazakhstan after moving into Sudan under a government plan to ensure steady food imports.
Saudi Arabia, one of the world's biggest rice importers, has received the first batch of rice to be produced abroad by local investors, state news agency SPA reported on Monday.
King Abdullah received today Saudi Arabia's Minister of Commerce and Industry accompanied by two Saudi businessmen Mohammad Hussein Al-Amoudi and Abdullah Hassan Al-Masri on the occasion of the arrival of the earliest produce of their rice to the Kingdom.
Le Cambodge a annoncé qu’il devrait avoir signé d’ici à mi- 2009 et que les accords concerneraient 2,5 millions d’hectares (l’équivalent de la Bretagne). Notons que le pays continue de recevoir une aide d’urgence du Programme alimentaire mondial, ce qui permet de douter de sa capacité à nourrir à la fois sa population et celle du Golfe…
Rich governments and corporations are triggering alarm for the poor as they buy up the rights to millions of hectares of agricultural land in developing countries in an effort to secure their own long-term food supplies.
The initial welcome given to rich countries’ investment in African farmland by agricultural and development officials has faded as the first ventures prove to be heavily weighted in favour of the investors. The FAO warned of such a trend when it said this year that the race to secure farmland overseas risked creating a “neo-colonial” system.
Some experts believe that the emphasis should be on overseas agricultural investments as well as a boost in trade relationships, due to the unavoidable handicaps to domestic agriculture.
Conséquence directe de la crise alimentaire mondiale et de la volatilité des cours, les projets d'achat ou de location de terres agricoles à grande échelle, parfois sur des centaines de milliers d'hectares, se multiplient.
As with timberland, while direct ownership and management (i.e., being a farmer), is a possibility, such a route is similarly fraught with difficulties. One of the most significant of these is the issue of diversification in the farmland itself - especially with a single investment. A well-diversified holding of farmland (row crop, permanent crop, pasture and even timber) will, therefore, not only require a significant investment, but may also involve land holdings in a number of different locations.
Saudi Arabia is interested in investment in grain and cattle-breeding in Kazakhstan, said agency reports referring to the press service of Akmola oblast akim.
The United Arab Emirates is seeking to invest in agricultural projects in Kazakhstan as part of its efforts to secure food supplies.
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A new wave of land grabs strikes Tanzania
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