UAE

Financial players are moving aggressively to snatch up lands around the world with access to water for irrigation. Their strategy is to pump as much water as they can and as fast as they can into the production of crops that reap high prices in export markets.

Corporate and property records show a winding path of ownership for the lands of the Al Dahra farm that leads from the city of Phoenix to an investment fund that includes the Arizona State Retirement System.

The proposed joint venture would bring together irrigation techniques and integrating digital tools into farming and landscaping projects.

The state’s retirement system invested heavily in a private land deal that allowed a foreign company to effectively ship Arizona’s scarce water supply overseas.

Dubai Investments and E20 Investment, an Abu Dhabi-based agribusiness investment company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop 3,750 Ha of agricultural land in Angola, espeically for rice and avocados

Fighting between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces threatens Gulf states which have invested tens of billions of dollars in Sudan for the production of crops and animal fodder, in addition to livestock rearing, for their own food security

Le gouvernement mauritanien a accordé 2.000 hectares de terres agricoles dans la wilaya du Trarza à la société emiratie AL DHAFRA pour la production céréalière, maraîchaire, fourragere et laitière

The agreement between Mauritania and Al Dhafra Company includes 2,000 hectares of agricultural land in the state of Ataraza to cultivate grains, fruits and vegetables, as well as fodder crops.

The Nubian Desert in north-eastern Sudan might not be anyone’s idea of promising farmland, but the Agriculture Investment Holding Company (Ethmar) Ltd, a joint venture between Royal Group of Abu Dhabi and DAL Group, Sudan’s biggest conglomerate, is investing $225m to change all that on over 105,000 hectares.

Worsening drought has focused new attention on a Saudi-owned dairy company and whether Arizona should be doing more to protect its groundwater resources.

Work is underway to boost cultivation area by five times to reach 1,900 hectares

Recent farmland purchases by Chinese, Middle Eastern, and other foreign government investors have raised concerns about food exports being prioritized over domestic consumption.