In the Czech Republic, agricultural land is also being snapped up. Whereas buyers used to be mainly Dutch and German farmers, now Western investment companies are also getting in on the act.
Of all the places on this planet where you might think of investing, Sudan would surely not normally be at the top of anyone’s list. But that is not the view of Philippe Heilberg of Jarch Capital in New York, who told the BBC that his company was leasing 400,000 hectares in the relatively more stable south part of the country.
Menacés par la crise alimentaire comme par l'épée Damoclès, la Chine, la Corée du Sud et les États du Golfe achètent des terres arables dans les pays pauvres pour subvenir à leurs propres besoins. Devlin Kuyek porte-parole de GRAIN, fait la lumière sur cette pratique méconnue, mais de plus en plus répandue.
Land acquisitions abroad are the only viable response, Mohammed Raouf, program manager of environment research at the Gulf Research Center, and others say.
A worldwide food shortage mixed with a global credit crisis has some countries getting creative. They're bartering food for other essentials. Javier Blas of Financial Times talks to Madeleine Brand about which nations are striking deals and what they're trading.
A lot of countries don't grow nearly enough food to feed themselves. Britain is one; South Korea, another. The giant South Korean conglomerate, Daewoo, has come up with a novel way of solving the problem of food security. It has leased a vast tract of land, 1.3 million acres, on the African island of Madagascar.
Interview with Sudanese government and FAO officials on leasing farmland to foreign investors
This week, Saudi Arabia announced plans to invest in overseas fisheries, livestock and food production, and is reportedly trying to partner with Thai rice farms to lock in future supplies. Libya is in talks with Ukraine about growing wheat there, and as China tries to feed its expanding middle class, it’s looking to buy up farmland in Africa and South America.
The Czech government has recently backed proposed legislation that should make it easier for foreigners from EU countries to buy Czech farmland.
