When land deals were first proposed, they were said to offer the host countries four main benefits: more jobs, new technology, better infrastructure and extra tax revenues. None of these promises has been fulfilled.
Glencore has an 8.7% share of the "addressable" global grain trade and farming operations covering 270,000ha in Argentina, Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia and the Ukraine.
Karuturi Global Ltd. may receive an additional 200,000 hectares (494,211 acres) of land from the Ethiopian government if its current 100,000-hectare concession is developed within two years, the Agriculture Ministry said.
The project funded by Col. Muammar Kadhafi with some US$30m to engage in mechanized production of rice has collapsed, and President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is now seeking a new investor to take over the project.
“We are looking at rice farmlands as it is the main food crop,” said Renatto Barbieri, Galtere's portfolio manager. “Have you heard of anyone dying because of not eating sugar or corn or soybeans?”
Ethiopia achieved positive results in the agriculture sector, which in turn led to improved domestic production and better environmental standards, says UNCTAD.
Qatar will make more investments overseas to produce key agricultural and horticultural commodities to ensure food supply security at home and will simultaneously focus on raising self-sufficiency in local produce.
"The reports claiming that the Government of Ethiopia has reduced the land concession given to Karuturi Global, are completely baseless," says Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, Founder & MD, Karuturi Global.
Ethiopia slashed the size of Karuturi’s land concession that was larger than Luxembourg on concern it was too big for a single company to manage and to enable an annual migration of antelope, the government said.
Pensionskassernes Administration, a Denmark-based fund that manages about $25 billion, plans to invest $370 million in farmland globally, said Jens Henrik Staugaard Johansen, a portfolio manager.
Film traces the story of the current mad race for control of farmlands, and the consequences it could have if nothing is done to protect the interests of small farmers and developing countries.
Vital Capital Investments LP, the private-equity firm that invests in housing and agriculture businesses in Africa, said it raised more than $250 million for its first fund.
