TIAA-CREF

While agricultural land has the potential to provide a source of long term fixed income, the hurdles are enormous. Extreme illiquidity and sensitivity to geo-political risk mean that diversification of holdings and careful selection are key.

Jose Minaya of TIAA-CREF talks about growing investor interest in farmland and the role of farmland in the pension fund's investment strategy.

Canada could soon get its first exchange-traded farmland management stock.

"The institutional investors are just starting to get into farmland," says Perry Vieth, president of Ceres Partners LLC

Fertile soil and good water supply – but lagging development – present a compelling opportunity for agriculture investors, finds Stephanie Schwartz-Driver

Roger Ferguson, chief executive of TIAA-CREF, says his firm is increasingly acquiring farmland in the US, Eastern Europe, Australia and Brazil as long term investments.

Farmland investments may return 8 percent to 12 percent annually as global food demand increases, said the largest US pensions manager for teachers and academic researchers with $469 billion of assets.

Synthesis report from the World Agriculture Investment Conference, London, UK, 4-5 October.

Foreign-investor purchases of farmland in poorer nations are displacing local populations and adding little to a country’s wealth, even as agricultural prices increase, according to Oxfam International.

Farmland is an increasingly attractive investment for pension funds, but some have held back from buying due to ethical and environmental concerns, and a fear of negative public perception.

A group of institutional investors representing US$1.3 trillion in assets have today launched the Principles for Responsible Investment in Farmland (the “Farmland Principles”).

Summary report of the conference hosted June 17, 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland