Today it emerged that world leaders are to discuss what is being described as “land grabbing” or “neo-colonialism” at the G8 meeting next week. A spokesman for Japan’s ministry of foreign affairs confirmed that it would raise the issue: “We feel there should be a code of conduct for investment in farmland that will be a win-win situation for both producing and consuming countries,” he said.
Olivier De Schutter, special envoy for food at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: “[The trend] is accelerating quickly. All countries observe each other and when one sees others buying land it does the same.”
Some of the largest deals include South Korea’s acquisition of 700,000ha in Sudan, and Saudi Arabia’s purchase of 500,000ha in Tanzania. The Democratic Republic of the Congo expects to shortly conclude an 8m-hectare deal with a group of South African businesses to grow maize and soya beans as well as poultry and dairy farming.
Other countries that have acquired land in the last year include the Gulf states, Sweden, China and Libya. Those targeted include not only fertile countries such as Brazil, Russia and Ukraine, but also poor countries like Cameroon, Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Zambia.
De Schutter said that after the food crisis of 2008, many countries found food imports hit their balance of payments, “so now they want to insure themselves”.
Continue Reading Fears For The World’s Poor Countries as The Rich Grab Land to Grow Food
Al Gore sets a dangerous precident with GAIA. To them god flows through everything and everything is god. They may choose not to desecrate a sacred tomatoe and eat Al Gore instead.
@Ed et al.
Yes, I can see a day where it will be more profitable to grow large Fir trees on farm land with the Carbon credit scheme in place. Especially with supranational bodies stipulating carbon ceilings for each nation and territory, there will be no choice but to grow big CO2 sucking trees to comply with mandates.
I agree here that one major goal is profits, but the United Nations Agenda 21 and other relevant plans clearly and most importantly state the goals are regional population control.
What’s so unfortunate in all of this is that there is such a large population of GAIA idolizing left wing folks who have bought into the Club of Rome’s new dialectic of Humanity vs. the Planet that I don’t see how we change this trajectory. The Al Gore followers simply cannot be reached any more with this type of discussion.
http://www.medicalecology.org/pdf/presentation/VF-How_to_proceed.pdf
Carbon + farmland + ted turner produced this insane piece of work….It goes well with the Rockefeller seed bank. Technology to live on Mars or technology to live on earth once it becomes like Mars or in Cities once all the land is wilderness. Or just a hoax explanation of how people will survive without farmland.
http://www.argentina-estancias.com/inflationhedge-farmland.htm There’s a lot to be found online by searching different combinations Carbon + farmland. Who knows which angles will win and be most profitable, no-till farming, planting trees instead of crops, anything they say that will sequester carbon has potential. Then there’s the Chicago climate exchange that Obama is heavily involved with, the infant dow jones of personal carbon trading, that’s sure to get favorable attention…
Catherine,
Something like this http://www.planetizen.com/node/24378, I think the personal carbon trade will have to evolve some, the value of carbon credits increase before turning farmland into wilderness becomes extremely profitable. Of course it’s all based on a fiction “global warming” but that’s nothing a pen and legislation can’t fix.
Carbon Credits and un-utilized farm land – http://www.iowafarmbureau.com/special/carbon/default.aspx
Removing farmland from farming, on a coordinated basis, could make a spike in food prices rather quickly- an easy way to manipulate a market. No fancy Goldman software or political corruption needed! Much less alternative uses like planting large “carbon sink” species. Or biofuel species.
(It does help to control the media, though. Then panic about “the coffee shortage” or whatever is easier to initiate and control.)
I do not see “carbon credits” as the next bubble; it is already too late for engineering that, although I am sure it is being tried. The command and control apparatus necessary is becoming dysfunctional due to mistrust between the major players (banks and corporations).
The next bubble is really money itself. Or debt.
There is just NO WAY that the quadrillion+ dollars of CDO swaps (a good estimate) can be rationalized in a system denominated in trillions.
We have all seen what uncontrolled leverage, motivated by greed (fear) can do. The human-scale
scenarios we have been discussing in the context of agriculture should have just the right amount of leverage- traceable, responsible, and transparent.
Yes, I can put up a website without knowing or even seeing HTML using my mac; leverage of communication does not amplify my voice- only its reach. But a distinction can be made between local knowledge, which embodies experience as an agent of transmission, and data or information-
which are lower rungs on the ladder of wisdom…something I think we all must learn to climb…