According to reports, Arab investors are buying agricultural land in Israel.
Aug 17th, 2009
Aarti Nagraj
KippReport
Wealthy individuals from the Gulf countries have recently purchased hundreds of acres of agricultural land in the occupied region of Galilee, reported Israel Radio this week. Farmers in Galilee reportedly tried to prevent the sale, but failed to do so as they did not have sufficient funds to buy the land from its owners. The Israel Lands Administration told the radio station that it could not interfere with the deal because the lands are privately-owned.
While the move has come under heavy criticism from political leaders in Israel, if true, it is the latest example of the increasing importance being given to agricultural land by people in the Arab world.
In recent years, in a bid to reduce food imports, several Gulf countries have been investing heavily in farmland in developing countries such as Pakistan, the Philippines and Ethiopia. Last year, Gulf States imported 80 percent of their food at a cost of $20 billion.
According to reports, Cambodia has a $546 million loan from Kuwait for agricultural projects, a $200 million venture with Qatar and has leased 1.6 million hectares of land to Saudi Arabia.
The Philippines is in talks with Qatar to lease around 100,000 hectares of agricultural land, and has a $500 million joint agri-business venture with Kuwait. Saudi also recently announced that it would allocate around $240 million to establish fruit plantations and support aquaculture and halal food processing projects in the Philippines. The UAE has 3,000 hectares in the country for agriculture projects.
Vietnam announced plans to establish a $1 billion investment fund with Qatar last year primarily for investment in food production for export.
But it’s not just for food, Gulf countries are also looking at the financially lucrative side of the agricultural industry.
Last year, the Qatari Investment Authority founded a company, Hassad Food, only to invest in existing agricultural businesses and projects around the world and re-export the produce.
“We are driven by profits and not just food security and right now the economic crisis has created a lot of opportunities for us to invest in financially distressed companies,” its chairman, Nasser Mohamed Al Hajri told Reuters earlier this month. The company is in talks with a number of agricultural companies in Argentina and other parts of South America, he said.
Earlier this month, Jenaan, a private agricultural investment firm in Abu Dhabi announced a AED925 million farmland deal in Egypt. The company plans to grow wheat on 42,000 hectares in south-western Egypt, and according to Jenaan, the produce will be “strictly for Egyptian consumption.
In July this year, Sami al-Araji, the head of the Iraqi National Investment, said during a visit to the UAE that the country was planning to offer agricultural land on a long-term rental basis to investors from the Gulf in order to revive its agricultural sector.
However, this growing trend has come under criticism from international bodies; Jacques Diouf, the head of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said recently that a new kind of “neo-colonialism” could appear from land deals where poor Southeast Asian countries produce food for export to rich Gulf States rather than feed their own malnourished people.
Earlier this year, the United Nations also said that farmers’ rights could be compromised in developing nations because of rich countries buying up their farmland.
Aug 17th, 2009
Aarti Nagraj
KippReport
Wealthy individuals from the Gulf countries have recently purchased hundreds of acres of agricultural land in the occupied region of Galilee, reported Israel Radio this week. Farmers in Galilee reportedly tried to prevent the sale, but failed to do so as they did not have sufficient funds to buy the land from its owners. The Israel Lands Administration told the radio station that it could not interfere with the deal because the lands are privately-owned.
While the move has come under heavy criticism from political leaders in Israel, if true, it is the latest example of the increasing importance being given to agricultural land by people in the Arab world.
In recent years, in a bid to reduce food imports, several Gulf countries have been investing heavily in farmland in developing countries such as Pakistan, the Philippines and Ethiopia. Last year, Gulf States imported 80 percent of their food at a cost of $20 billion.
According to reports, Cambodia has a $546 million loan from Kuwait for agricultural projects, a $200 million venture with Qatar and has leased 1.6 million hectares of land to Saudi Arabia.
The Philippines is in talks with Qatar to lease around 100,000 hectares of agricultural land, and has a $500 million joint agri-business venture with Kuwait. Saudi also recently announced that it would allocate around $240 million to establish fruit plantations and support aquaculture and halal food processing projects in the Philippines. The UAE has 3,000 hectares in the country for agriculture projects.
Vietnam announced plans to establish a $1 billion investment fund with Qatar last year primarily for investment in food production for export.
But it’s not just for food, Gulf countries are also looking at the financially lucrative side of the agricultural industry.
Last year, the Qatari Investment Authority founded a company, Hassad Food, only to invest in existing agricultural businesses and projects around the world and re-export the produce.
“We are driven by profits and not just food security and right now the economic crisis has created a lot of opportunities for us to invest in financially distressed companies,” its chairman, Nasser Mohamed Al Hajri told Reuters earlier this month. The company is in talks with a number of agricultural companies in Argentina and other parts of South America, he said.
Earlier this month, Jenaan, a private agricultural investment firm in Abu Dhabi announced a AED925 million farmland deal in Egypt. The company plans to grow wheat on 42,000 hectares in south-western Egypt, and according to Jenaan, the produce will be “strictly for Egyptian consumption.
In July this year, Sami al-Araji, the head of the Iraqi National Investment, said during a visit to the UAE that the country was planning to offer agricultural land on a long-term rental basis to investors from the Gulf in order to revive its agricultural sector.
However, this growing trend has come under criticism from international bodies; Jacques Diouf, the head of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said recently that a new kind of “neo-colonialism” could appear from land deals where poor Southeast Asian countries produce food for export to rich Gulf States rather than feed their own malnourished people.
Earlier this year, the United Nations also said that farmers’ rights could be compromised in developing nations because of rich countries buying up their farmland.
10 comments:
but, it is still better to lease it to yuon or siameses, right. nothing is wrong with that, but how those money will be used is of our concern.
That is the kind of deals this stupid and blind this government makes. Cambodian people are the ones that paying the price.
Posted by Xocheata
The commentator or the journalist must be stupid, not the government. Cambodia has only 2 million hectares of land, how can we lease 1.6 million hectares to Saudi Arabia.
i think leasing our agricultural land affluent nations, by all mean, other than the historical enemies youn and siem will be better for cambodia. i think most educated khmer people prefer this over partnership with cambodia's historical enemies, youn and siem thieves! trust me, khmer people are never fond of youn and siem due to historical contexts, etc... glad to see gov't look beyond youn and siem for investment, etc... yes, we have to think about our existence and future, too, you know! who wouldn't? god bless our beloved cambodia. hopefully, cambodia and khmer people will benefi from these investment in the long run. remember cambodia's khmer people's interest is the priority, always. thank you.
I agree with 2.16am, there is nothing wrong to lease to those countries except those gready Yourn and Siem as this deal will bring in employment and technology to our farmers. Afterall the land will be developed and return to Cambodian.
For Rent, For Lease, and For Sale..
Nothing to lose everything to gain.
Cambodia is a great place to invest now. I gaurantee you if you snooze you lose.
For information please contact me as possible 1(800)HUN-XEN and thank you for your cooperation.
Posted by Xocheata
khmer people never like youn and siem. plus, we prefer other investors from all over the world, except youn and siem, of course. we hate youn and siem, our historical enemies! hello, what part of hate don't you understand! wake up, cambodia!
anybody else is better than youn and siem thieves!
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