Philippines: Potential $300-million Saudi investments cited

• Business World
• 14 May 2009

A visit last week by Saudi Arabian businessmen could result in $300 million in investments to develop 20,000 hectares of farm lands for commercial crops.

Pakistan: MoI decides to sell 1m acres of farmland to foreigners

• Daily Times
• 14 May 2009

Pakistan's Ministry of Investment has decided to offer one million acres of farmland for long-term investment or sale to foreigners, including the Emirates Investment Group.

About

• 13 May 2009

Malaysia's global oil palm rainforest land grab just the beginning of larger land and water scarcity issues

• Ecological Internet
• 13 May 2009

Over-developed, over-populated, and land and water scarce Asian and Middle East nations embark upon global land grab to produce food and agrofuels; threatening global human rights, rainforest and other natural ecosystems, and regional and global ecological sustainability. Deadly global ecological issues require global citizens to unite in escalating protest action!

More on African land deals

• Global Dashboard
• 13 May 2009

More important is for Africa to realise its own potential for food production, which would in the long-term negate the need for these deals.

Philippines: DA wants ecozones created for agribusiness

• Business Mirror
• 13 May 2009

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) wants to create exclusive economic zones for agribusiness that would take into consideration the nuances of food production and an expanded set of incentives for locators.

Pakistan seeks investment to build eight million houses

• Gulf News
• 13 May 2009

“We have finalised plans for the corporate farming project and we have the capabilities to meet the food requirements of the GCC countries," said Senator Waqar Ahmad Khan, Investment Minister of Pakistan. “They will be able to export 50 per cent of the crop while the 50 per cent would be sold in Pakistan,” adding that 6.65 million acres of land for agriculture is available in Pakistan.

What investors are watching in Sudan

• Reuters
• 13 May 2009

Sudan is trying to diversify and strengthen its economy to make up for plummeting oil revenues. Ministers have been wooing agricultural investors, particularly from the Arab world.

Land grab conference: The Race for the World's Farmland

• The New Security Beat
• 12 May 2009

On May 5, the Wilson Center hosted a half-day conference that considered the implications for investors, host countries, and food security, highlighting case studies from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the former Soviet Union.

Arabs eyeing investments in Mindanao

• Manila Bulletin
• 12 May 2009

Several Arab investors visited this city last week in a mission to look for potential agriculture business in Mindanao where they can pour their investments.

Leading experts to speak at Global AgInvesting 2009 conference in New York

• Soyatech
• 11 May 2009

Aimed at public and private market investors, this conference will explore opportunities for global investments in agricultural lands, commodities and infrastructure in North and South America, Australia, China, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Q&A: More investment in production won’t cure African food crisis

• IPS
• 11 May 2009

The food crisis in African states will not be solved by investment to spur agricultural production because the problem is not food output but poverty that is making food unaffordable for urban Africans.