Morocco

Desde hace años, el propio gobierno marroquí está promoviendo por diferentes vías el arrendamiento de tierras al percibir suculentos ingresos y con la excusa de modernizar el sector y atraer la inversión foránea.

While some North African countries are selling land, others struggling with dry climates are starting to buy land tracts overseas and in other African nations to feed their own growing populations.

The UAE has embarked on an overseas investment spree to ensure domestic food security in a country with miniscule arable area -- a spree that will only grow

Morocco plans to lease 30,000 ha of farmland per year to improve yields, satisfy growing national demand and boost export sales, its agriculture minister said on Thursday.

Une campagne de promotion qui vise à offrir des informations aux investisseurs étrangers sur l'appel à manifestation d'intérêt international lancé dernièrement pour une exploitation de longue durée sous forme de partenariat de terrains agricoles relevant du domaine privé de l'Etat marocain sera menée en Europe.

Morocco is inviting bids from foreign and domestic investors to lease 21,000 hectares of farmland as part of its farm reform plans.

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.

An Abu Dhabi-based private sector investment firm has signed a contract to lease up to 700,000 hectares of farmland in Morocco, a company executive said yesterday.

The water industry and agriculture are emerging as major new asset classes for Islamic financial institutions, especially in the field of sustainable investments.

Pergam: "J’ai débuté mes achats de terres en 2005, en les étalant sur une période de deux ans jusqu’en 2007. La majorité des terres acquises se situe en Uruguay (35 000 hectares dont 40 % sont consacrés à la culture et 60 % à l’élevage) et les autres, en Argentine, soit 10 000 hectares. J’ai effectué ses achats au travers de la société argentine Campos orientales, l’un des plus gros propriétaires terriens du pays. La plus value latente est de l’ordre de 30 % en deux ans."

A conference for fund managers tied to agriculture held annually in Sydney by Austock, an Australian broker, attracted a few dozen contrarian souls three years ago. This year’s event, which began on March 16th, had to be restricted to several hundred ticket-holders, with many others turned away.

With vast tracts of land being sold in Madagascar, and Sudan and other African governments actively seeking investors in agricultural land, are we witnessing a neo-colonial land grab or will the investment result in greater food productivity to the long-term benefit of recipient nations?