China

As other countries have pushed their industrial bases thousands of miles offshore in search of resources and labor, China is doing the same thing with agriculture, expanding as far away as Africa in its effort to feed its people.

Chinese and Mozambican governments want to make the Zambezi Valley region of Mozambique a centre for rice production for the Chinese market, which is faced with increased consumption and less and less arable land, says researcher Loro Horta, a specialist in relations between China and Portuguese-speaking African countries.

Emerging nations are trying to cash in on the global food crisis by getting big importers of crops to effectively lease their farmlands -- a new trend that is already sparking complaints from farmers in some countries who are concerned about their own food supplies.

A senior Ministry of Agriculture official on Thursday dismissed foreign media reports about China hoarding overseas farmland, saying the country is fully capable of ensuring its own food security.

Chinese investors, who have lately gained a strong presence in Kenya’s telecoms and heavy industry, are now eyeing the country’s farmland as a source of useful raw materials and employment opportunity

China's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) was drafting policies to encourage domestic companies to rent or buy land abroad for farming, especially for planting soy bean, the EO learned. The MOA had identified five regions, including Central Asia, Russia, Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America, for five major Chinese state-owned farming companies to invest in.

Beijing is adding agricultural investments to its “go outward” strategy, under which domestic businesses are encouraged to venture into foreign markets.

China has taken a lead in efforts to boost Africa’s farm production, putting pressure on GCC states to also find long-term solutions for food supply in Africa

The Saudi government announced that it would co-ordinate with local private-sector companies and invest in strategic agricultural interests in key producer countries such as Brazil, Ukraine, Thailand and India, guaranteeing for itself supplies of cereals, meat and vegetables. It is already in advanced negotiations with Thai investors and a deal on rice farms in Thailand is likely before the end of the year.

As food crisis worsens, some nations are desperate for arable land

China’s search for new land has led Beijing to aggressively seek large land leases in Mozambique over the past two years, particularly in its most fertile areas, such as the Zambezi valley in the north and the Limpopo valley in the south.

One would expect China to add food crops, or farm land, into its growing number of arrangements with African nations, which could explain part of China’s support for Robert Mugabe in that potential breadbasket, Zimbabwe (one report states that China has already received rights to farm 250,000 acres, or 1,000 square kilometres, of corn in southern Zimbabwe).