Saudi companies are making major forays into agriculture in Sudan as is evident from the recent acquisition of agricultural lands covering an area of approximately 4,000 acres in Sudan's northern region
TADCO subsidiary has already arranged leases in Cambodia, Vietnam, Pakistan and the Philippines for export production of aromatic and long grain basmati rice.
Tadco has visited the Kalumbarak Skyline Village in Malungon town, Philippines, with the intention of putting up a multimillion dollar worth agricultural investment.
At a two-day conference near the Moroccan capital Rabat, local officials sought to convince Gulf investors that heavy bureaucracy and complex land ownership rules, long seen as decisive obstacles, are a thing of the past.
There’s a whole school of economic thought that says that Collier is wrong, that big is not necessarily better in agriculture — and that the land deals therefore might be unwise not because they’re wrong but because they’re unprofitable.
Jannat has a target of securing 100,000 to 215,000 hectares of land abroad, including $100m in African investments, says Mohammed Abdulla al-Rajhi, chairman of Jannat and deputy chairman of Tadco.
Interview with Kieran Forde, an Irishman who works in Saudi Arabia for the Tabuk Agriculture Company (TADCO), which will be shifting food production for the Saudi market to Egypt
An internal document recently posted on IRRI's website reveals that the Institute has been advising Saudi Arabia in the context of its strategy to acquire farm land overseas for its own food production.
In June 2009, the Indian company Karuturi took up intensive farming in Ethiopia. The harvest will be exported to Asia and Europe.
Indiens et Saoudiens sont sur le point d’effectuer leur première récolte sur sol éthiopien. Le pays a prévu de céder 2,7 millions d’hectares aux étrangers.
"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.
