Farmers in Uzbekistan say the government is forcing them to surrender land to Chinese businesses under the guise of state-backed development, taking thousands of hectares of fertile cotton and wheat fields out of the hands of locals.
The bigger question—one Tasmania must answer soon—is how much of its food-bowl can be outsourced to balance sheets before community cohesion snaps.
Agricultural ventures feature prominently, with Shandong Jialejia Agriculture committing Sh3.9 billion to a 500,000-hen egg farm in Kajiado, Zonken Group investing Sh41.6 billion in a 300-acre aloe vera processing plant in Baringo and Sh10.4 billion for a 72-acre grape vineyard.
The Schmidt Agricola family business is planning a 10,000-hectare cocoa farm in the Brazilian state of Bahia, where similar super-sized cocoa farms are also under development in partnership with large cocoa companies like Cargill and Barry Callebaut.
Plantations et Huileries du Congo, the DRC’s leading palm oil producer, plans to exponentially increase its palm oil production, but this strategy could exacerbate land conflicts.
In Europe, the appropriation of agricultural land by other actors, such as investors and supermarkets, raises concerns by driving up prices and reducing access for future farmers, as well as threatening food security and the sustainability of the EU.
Bloomberg's Big Take podcast looks at an investigation into allegations of sexual coercion at plantations run by Socfin, a rubber company supplying top tiremakers.
Hubert Fabri and Vincent Bolloré own plantations accused of land appropriation and labor abuses. Their company says it has taken steps to improve matters, but a trip to West Africa shows sexual coercion claims remain widespread.
Prima Wawona, the one-time largest peach producer in the world, financially rotted in the few years after private equity players took control. A former owner wants to know how.
Global demand for arable land is rising, making Africa a key target for large-scale acquisitions to tackle food and energy challenges.
The investment arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has bought a fourth major Aussie cropping aggregation.
The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) and Chinese conglomerate, SINOMACH have agreed to jointly develop a large-scale sugarcane cultivation and processing project in Nigeria.
