Posted on 09/12/2010 1:05:21 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Neo-colonial rush for global farmland has gone exponential since the food scare of 2007-2008.
Last week's long-delayed report by the World Bank suggests that purchases in developing countries rose to 45m hectares in 2009, a ten-fold jump from levels of the last decade. Two thirds have been in Africa, where institutions offer weak defence.
As is by now well-known, sovereign wealth funds from the Mid-East, as well as state-entities from China, the Pacific Rim, and even India are trying to lock up chunks of the world's future food supply. Western agribusiness is trying to beat them to it. Western funds - many listed on London's AIM exchange - are in turn trying to beat them. The NGO GRAIN, and farmlandgrab.com, have both documented the stampede in detail.
Hedge funds that struck rich 'shorting' US sub-prime have rotated into the next great play of our era: 'long’ soil. "Productive agricultural land with water on site, will be very valuable in the future. And I've put a good amount of money into that," said Michael Burry, star of 'The Big Short'.
Needless to say, this has set off a fierce backlash. Brazil has passed a decree limiting acreage held by foreign-owned companies, the latest evidence that our half-century era of globalisation may be drawing to a close.
Authorities are probing whether firms are using local fronts to disguise investment in Mato Grosso and Amazonia. "Brazilian land must stay in the hands of Brazilians," said the farm development minister, Guilherme Cassel. It is starting to feel like the early 1970s when the military regime more or less froze out foreign buyers.
Where will this leave the plans of SinoLatin Capital, Goldman Sachs, Harvest Capital, or Berkshire Hathaway? Warren Buffett, wisely, is exploring his $400m venture in soya and sugar with a Brazilian
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Just this last year, Brazil passed the USA as the worlds largest exporter of Soy Beans.
All the good farm land around here is getting covered with gated communities.
Anyone who invests in Africa is a moron.
Whatever land you develop will be taken from you and given to someone with a darker skin tone, and just because you have water on the land doesn't mean the government is going to let you use it. Heck even in America you can't even use the water under you own land without permission anymore.
I predict that cigarettes & booze will be the most valuable.
They're still draining swamps?
yitbos (former denison of Atchafalaya swamp)
Plenty of high ground here.
Here too. But the land will still be there when the fit finally his the shan.
Globalization is doomed to failure because you run out of other people’s money...and property.
China is a mercantilist country. They wish to buy up assets all over the world, and are exporting Chinese workers to work these assets. Africa should not be selling land to China, it should be selling agricultural products to China, trading for their finished goods.
Ping
Referenced website: Farmlandgrab
Also check Soros’ & friends acquisitions & interests in commodities
Interesting article.
Wonder if there will be something similar that occurs due to the supply of water?
No worries. once the appalacians are leveled for the coal and limestone under them, we’ll have all that space for farms. Truck in loads of loess from western iowa and spread it around. tada, instant croplands.
Not to mention all the corn currently being grown for ethanol...rotate that land into human food production and we got plenty.
It would be very easy for African nations do repeat Zimbabwe’s example.
bullets&guns?
Why? I don't think the Chinese are morons. It depends on how much force you are willing to use to protect your interests. The US missed its opportunity to set the direction of Africa and shape in along our ideals. Once the chinese are fully embedded into Africa, they won't tolerate crap from African socialists. No protests, no mobs. Machete, meet AK-47 and tanks.
> “Globalization is doomed to failure because you run out of other people’s money...and property.”
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Globalization is doomed to failure because Jesus Christ says it is. “When they say Peace, Peace, then shall the end...”
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