Saudi Arabia

The issue of land ownership in Africa is very sacred and foreign investors need to be aware of the local sensitivities.

The problem of food security poses a real threat to global stability. Meeting in Italy last weekend, agriculture ministers of the G8 industrialized countries recognized the extent of the problem. They pledged to continue fighting hunger. But beyond calling for increased public and private investment in agriculture, the final communiqué of the ministerial meeting was short on fresh proposals.

Pakistan is offering one million acres of farmland, protected by a special security force, for lease or sale to countries seeking to secure their food supplies, an official from the ministry of finance said on Monday.

En janvier, le premier riz “saoudien” produit à l’étranger a été présenté au roi Abdallah. Le consommateur saoudien ne goûte pas la différence. En dépit du renversement de conjoncture, il continue à payer son alimentation à un prix élevé, correspondant au niveau en vigueur pour les achats massifs effectués en 2008 afin de prévenir toute crise alimentaire.

Saudi Arabian investors want to lease 500,000 hectares of farmland in Tanzania to grow rice and wheat.

Saudi investors have asked Tanzania if they can lease 500,000 hectares of farmland mainly for rice and wheat farming as part of a plan to secure food supplies for the desert kingdom, officials said.

Al Rajhi for International Investment will spend an estimated $400 million by 2011 to produce wheat and maize in Egypt and Sudan. The Saudi private firm is already farming 42,000 hectares of farmland in Egypt this year.

Saudi Arabia is putting $800m into a new public company that will invest in overseas agricultural projects. The move signals a large step-up in Riyadh’s efforts to outsource supply for the kingdom’s food needs.

Not a day goes by without new acreage being signed over. "For Sale" ads for agricultural property are now featured in the international financial press. And there's no dearth of clients.

Two of the world's biggest land investors - Saudi Arabia and South Korea - have announced moves to improve their food security. A South Korean company is to buy 125,000 acres in Russia over the next four years and a Saudi group has set up a £600m fund to buy land.

"Je crois que les tensions seront inévitables où que ce soit, faisant des enclaves agricoles étrangères de véritables forteresses assiégées."

The Saudi Cabinet on Monday approved establishing a SR3 billion agricultural investments company that will partner the Saudi private sector in the quest to achieve food security in the Kingdom.