Rothschild has recently formed a co-operation agreement with Rabobank, a leading global food and agricultural bank. The agreement covers co-operation for mergers and acquisitions and the equity capital market across a number of sectors including farm inputs and equipment, farm-based commodities, primary food processing, food processing and beverages.
Prime Minister Taro Aso says he will call on world to develop principles promoting responsible foreign investment in agriculture in the face of "land grabs" of large-scale farmland in poor nations to ensure food supplies for wealthy nations.
Actualmente los grandes compradores son el gobierno de Corea del Sur -que posee en el extranjero más tierras fértiles de las que tiene en su propio país-, seguido de China, Arabia Saudí, Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Japón.
We need non-binding principles, not regulation, to make land grabbing win-win, says Japan's Prime Minister before the G8 Summit
The emergence of the farmland asset class is not without pitfalls with the provision of food always highly political and a tentative global economic recovery potentially threatened by the H1N1 flu pandemic, fund managers said.
Environmentalists — who have dubbed it the “land-grabbers bill” — fear the new rules will offer a carte blanche for those wanting to make money by destroying the Amazon.
When people are using lands under customary tenure arrangements, there is an inequality in bargaining power where no formal titles to the land exist if a foreign investor is interested in purchasing the land.
Despite criticism for Chinese efforts to acquire large-scale farmland in Africa, China is seen continuing to aggressively pursue acquisitions in other countries. says Michael Whitehead, executive director of the food and agribusiness research and advisory unit at Rabobank International.
An investor analysis of the case for buying up farmland
As world population expands, the demand for arable land should soar. At least that's what George Soros, Lord Rothschild, and other investors believe.
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."
Slater reckons shortages of soft commodities and the likelihood of rising inflation make farmland an excellent investment, not least in Brazil where Agrifirma is located.
