farmlandgrab.org | Latest posts

Slater aims to raise $15m for agriculture company
- Dow Jones
- 26 May 2009
Slater reckons shortages of soft commodities and the likelihood of rising inflation make farmland an excellent investment, not least in Brazil where Agrifirma is located.
La pugna por la tierra amenaza a los africanos
- El País
- 25 May 2009
Las adquisiciones de tierra en África, Asia y Latinoamérica, tal y como se hacen en la actualidad, suponen condenar a los más pobres a ser desalojados de sus fincas o a perder acceso a la tierra, al agua y a otros recursos, según el primer estudio sobre la nueva tendencia de grandes corporaciones y gobiernos de invertir en tierras en países pobres, encargado por las agencias de las Naciones Unidas de la Agricultura y Alimentación y del Desarrollo (FAO y UNDP).
Sabah welcomes foreign investors for commercial rice cultivation
- Bernama
- 25 May 2009
The state government is welcoming foreign investors wishing to commercialise padi planting in Sabah in order to increase rice production in the state, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin said.
Les dangers de la ruée sur les meilleures terres d'Afrique
- Le Monde
- 25 May 2009
Les investisseurs internationaux jettent leur dévolu sur les terres agricoles – les meilleures et les mieux irriguées. Elles constituent pourtant le moyen de subsistances des populations locales. Mais les gouvernements font peu de cas de celles-ci.
Riyadh paves way for foreign ventures
- FT
- 24 May 2009
Since details emerged of Saudi Arabia’s plans to ensure supplies of wheat, rice, corn, soya beans and alfalfa through overseas agricultural investments, officials have insisted that they intended the programme to be private-sector led.
Food security fuels land grab, says report
- Financial Times
- 24 May 2009
Alarmed by exporters’ trade restrictions, food importing countries have realised that their dependence on the agricultural market makes them vulnerable not only to a surge in prices but, more crucially, to an interruption in supplies.
Africa almost giving land away, says UN
- Financial Times
- 24 May 2009
African countries are giving away vast tracts of farmland to other countries and investors almost for free, according to a report published by IIED, IFAD and FAO
Sudan seeks investors for $45bn farm projects
- Reuters
- 24 May 2009
The Sudanese capital state of Khartoum has $45 billion worth of agricultural projects that are available for investors, Saudi newspaper Al-Watan reported on Sunday, quoting a senior official. One of the projects is worth $500 million and consists of tendering 2,100 sq km of farmland west of Omdurman.
Any lessons for Ghana in India’s jatropha failure?
- Ghana Business News
- 23 May 2009
A Norwegian company, ScanFuel Ltd., says its Ghanaian unit has contracted about 400,000 hectares of land, with up to 60 percent reserved for biofuel production, “not less” than 30 percent for food production and the remainder for biodiversity buffer zones.
Saudi's Tabuk signs deals for food investment abroad
- Reuters
- 23 May 2009
Saudi agricultural company Tabuk Agricultural Development Co has started preparations to invest in food production abroad, driving up its stock.
Republic of Congo goes farming for, well, farmers
- Wall Street Journal
- 23 May 2009
For a growing number of South African farmers, the Republic of Congo is the Promised Land. They’re scrambling to get on board an ambitious venture to reclaim farmland in Congo’s interior and help relieve that country of a reliance on food imports. Already some 70 farmers have booked a Congo tour and more than 3,000 have expressed interest, said Agri-SA, the South African farming group organizing the venture.
Buying farmland abroad: Outsourcing's third wave
- The Economist
- 21 May 2009
Rich food importers are acquiring vast tracts of poor countries' farmland. Is this beneficial foreign investment or neocolonialism?
Russia's billion-dollar plan to secure poultry sector
- Reuters
- 21 May 2009
Russia, its appetite for cheap poultry meat growing, is spending billions of dollars developing its poultry farms to slash its dependence on imports and squeeze U.S. suppliers from their biggest export market.
Arab investors keen on Mindanao agri prospects
- Philippine Information Agency
- 21 May 2009
A 23-member delegation composed of government and private sector representatives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) headed by its Minister of Agriculture was recently on a mission here to explore investment opportunities in agriculture.
Mideast grabs land elsewhere
- CNN
- 21 May 2009
CNN's John Defterios takes a look at how Middle Eastern countries are scouring the globe for farmland.