It will be recalled that earlier this year saw riots in various countries where the populace protested at the lack of availability of food. At the time wiser heads advised that the world faced a world-wide shortage of food supplies, especially in poorer countries.
Today's news shows a dimension of the concern by at least one country, South Korea. It has purchased land in Africa as a means whereby it can establish what is being described as food security.
Afrik.com reports in "South Korea gets African land to safeguard food security":
"Daewoo Logistics of South Korea has secured farmland in Madagascar to grow food crops for Seoul, in a deal that diplomats and consultants said was the largest of its kind.
The company said it had leased 1.3m hectares of farmland – about half the size of Belgium – from Madagascar’s government for 99 years. It plans to ship the maize and palm oil harvests back to South Korea. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The pursuit of foreign farm investments is a clear sign of how countries are seeking food security following this year’s crisis – which saw record prices for commodities such as wheat and rice and food riots in countries from Egypt to Haiti.
Prices for agricultural commodities have tumbled by about half from such levels but countries remain concerned about long-term supplies.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation warned this year that the race by some countries to secure farmland overseas risked creating a “neo-colonial” system. Those fears could be increased by the fact that Daewoo’s farm in Madagascar represents about half the African country’s arable land, according to estimates by the US government."
Today's news shows a dimension of the concern by at least one country, South Korea. It has purchased land in Africa as a means whereby it can establish what is being described as food security.
Afrik.com reports in "South Korea gets African land to safeguard food security":
"Daewoo Logistics of South Korea has secured farmland in Madagascar to grow food crops for Seoul, in a deal that diplomats and consultants said was the largest of its kind.
The company said it had leased 1.3m hectares of farmland – about half the size of Belgium – from Madagascar’s government for 99 years. It plans to ship the maize and palm oil harvests back to South Korea. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The pursuit of foreign farm investments is a clear sign of how countries are seeking food security following this year’s crisis – which saw record prices for commodities such as wheat and rice and food riots in countries from Egypt to Haiti.
Prices for agricultural commodities have tumbled by about half from such levels but countries remain concerned about long-term supplies.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation warned this year that the race by some countries to secure farmland overseas risked creating a “neo-colonial” system. Those fears could be increased by the fact that Daewoo’s farm in Madagascar represents about half the African country’s arable land, according to estimates by the US government."
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