Global demand for soybeans has soared in recent decades, with China leading the race. Nearly 60 percent of all soybeans entering international trade today go to China, making it far and away the world’s largest importer.
A rights-based vision as brought forward by the FAO guidelines still bears the risk of reinforcing unequal local power structures. Instead, more long-term strategies for the protection of customary rights are required. Thus, a moratorium on ‘land grabs’ would be most appropriate.
Rulli and colleagues estimate that global land grabbing is associated with the grabbing of 308 billion m3 of green water (i.e. rain water) and an additional grabbing of blue water that can range from 11 billion m3 (current irrigation practices) to 146 billion m3 (maximal irrigation) per year. To put these numbers in perspective, the average daily household consumption of water in the UK is 150 liters (0.15 m3) per person.
High land prices are forcing Indians to till the more welcoming soils of the Caucasus
EBG Capital, global environmental investment boutique based in Zürich, Switzerland, is developing a membership-based voluntary reporting system on responsible farmland investing that revolves around "key performance indicators".
75% of Mali's population are farmers, but rich, land-hungry nations like China and Saudi Arabia are leasing Mali's land in order to turn large areas into agribusiness farms. Many Malian peasants do not welcome these efforts, seeing them as yet another manifestation of imperialism.
Agricon has negotiated terms to acquire 12,000 hectares plus several additional opportunities for the acquisition of over 50,000 hectares in Ghana.
Adecoagro realised more of the substantial gains within its 283,000-hectare landbank by selling one of its Argentine farms in a deal valuing it at 11 times the purchase price a decade ago.
In 2012, PM Mizengo Pinda announced that from January 2013, Tanzania will start restricting the size of land that single large-scale foreign and local investors can “lease” for agricultural use. And Tanzania Investment Centre announced that guidelines that will make the Tanzania Land Bank functional will be ready early 2013.
Sudan launched a major dam project on Tuesday to boost power supply and agricultural irrigation, a plan officials hope will foster farmland exports and attract more Gulf investment to the African country as it battles an economic crisis.
As land and water become scarce, as the earth’s temperature rises, and as world food security deteriorates, a dangerous geopolitics of food scarcity is emerging, writes Lester Brown
Armenian and Iranian authorities are negotiating on the possible lease by Iranian sheep and cattle breeders of mountain pastures in southeastern Armenia, it was officially confirmed on Friday.
