Kingdom eyes overseas farmland investments

By REUTERS

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia wants to secure supplies for sugar, rice, wheat, malt and fodder with farmland investments overseas, Agriculture Minister Fahd Balghunaim said in remarks published on Tuesday.

Gulf countries, heavily reliant on food imports, have been buying farmland in developing nations to ensure food security after a spike in food prices.

Saudi Arabia, which abandoned its wheat cultivation program two years ago due to dwindling water resources, has emerged as a major buyer of wheat from global markets and is also trying, with the help of private Saudi investors, to secure farmland in Africa and elsewhere.

"The goal (of investments) is to support supply of main goods which cannot be produced locally like rice and sugar or which requires a lot of water in production like wheat, malt and fodder," Balghunaim told daily Al-Watan.

Saudi Arabia also wanted to secure fish and livestock, he said, adding that the investments were all long-term plans.

The government has urged companies to invest in farm projects abroad.

In April, Riyadh set up a company with a capital of SR3 billion ($800 million) to invest in farmland abroad, focusing on wheat, rice, sugar and soybeans.

State-owned Saudi Industrial Development Fund is granting financing facilities to firms exploring agricultural investments abroad. Several Saudi firms also launched farmland investment abroad ranging from Indonesia to Ethiopia.

Balghunaim said investing in farmland was no land-grabbing as described by some media outlets.

"The initiative ... to invest in farmland production abroad has no political goals," he said, adding that host countries were also benefiting from the investments.

 

Comments

SAIMA MIAN

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The ethics of this practice are debatable. The government's of the host countries (often corrupt) maybe benefitting, but not the local population. The rich countries looking for their food security should include provisions in the agreeements with host countries for food security of the local population as well. Everyone is entitled to food security, not just those with money.

PULLISSERY HAMZA

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Saudi government`s plan to invest abroad in agriculture in view of the dwindling domestic water resources is a step in the right direction. But extreme care has to be taken while chosing the companies for the projects taking into account the health aspect of the products the Kingdom gets from this project. The nightmarish effects of the much trumpeted Green Revolution in third world countries should open the eyes of the authorities. It is reported that in the once most prosperous Indian state of Punjab, which flourished in agriculture using the chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides as part of the Green Revolution, the sight of thousands of cancer patients standing in quieue for the regular Cancer Train which takes cancer patients to hospitals is a matter of daily routine. Though Punjab became an agricultural state, it also became a cancer producing state. The reason: Material minded, greedy pursuit for high yield ignoring the health aspect of agriculture, forced the farmers to resort to chemical fertilizers and pesticides abanding their conventional organic farming techniques. Farm products produced out of chemical farming has proved to be fatal in due course. The authorities are requested to pay great attention to this point while awarding tenders to companies. Most of the companies are found to be matgerial minded and ignores common well being.

FUAD AWADH BASMER

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I am ready to assist on to procuring the Farmland from Kenya
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