dreamdancer 0 #1 May 27, 2011 interesting... QuoteIS THIS the face of future water conflicts? China, India and Saudi Arabia have lately leased vast tracts of land in sub-Saharan Africa at knockdown prices. Their primary aim is to grow food abroad using the water that African countries don't have the infrastructure to exploit. Doing so is cheaper and easier than using water resources back home. But it is a plan that could well backfire. "There is no doubt that this is not just about land, this is about water," says Philip Woodhouse of the University of Manchester, UK. Take Saudi Arabia, for instance. Between 2004 and 2009, it leased 376,000 hectares of land in Sudan to grow wheat and rice. At the same time the country cut back on wheat production on home soil, which is irrigated with water from aquifers that are no longer replenished - a finite resource. Meanwhile, firms from China and India have leased hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmland in Ethiopia. Both China and India have well-developed irrigation systems, but Woodhouse says their further development - moving water from the water-rich south to northern China, for instance - is likely to be more costly than leasing land in Africa, making the land-grab a tempting option. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028144.100-african-land-grab-could-lead-to-future-water-conflicts.htmlstay away from moving propellers - they bite blue skies from thai sky adventures good solid response-provoking keyboarding Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dreamdancer 0 #2 May 28, 2011 getting hotter... QuoteFood prices are expected to hit new highs in the coming weeks, tightening the squeeze on UK households and potentially triggering further unrest in developing countries unless there is heavy rainfall across drought-affected Europe, the United Nations has warned. The average global price of cereals jumped by 71% to a new record in the year to April, more than three times higher than a decade ago, according to latest UN figures, prompting its Food and Agriculture Organisation to warn that Europe faces a pivotal few weeks. With the dry spell forecast to continue for several weeks across Europe, Abdolreza Abbassian, senior grains economist at the FAO, said: "Europe is entering a very critical month. We can't do without rain any more. If the current situation continues prices will respond very aggressively." "Our fear is that we still haven't seen the worst of food inflation in vulnerable countries and that could be coming. One way or another, rising food prices bring hardship on their people and you can't rule out the possibility of further food riots. A lot depends on the next few weeks and it's impossible to predict how Mother Nature will behave," Abbassian added. The UN warning came after the release of data showing that the amount of speculative money that has been pouring into basic foodstuffs – and other commodities – also hit a new record in April, putting additional upward pressure on prices that are already being forced higher by the prospect of further crop failures. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/may/27/food-riots-warning-by-un-as-commodities-soarstay away from moving propellers - they bite blue skies from thai sky adventures good solid response-provoking keyboarding Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dreamdancer 0 #3 May 31, 2011 and hotter... QuoteThe average price of staple foods will more than double in the next 20 years, leading to an unprecedented reversal in human development, Oxfam has warned. The world's poorest people, who spend up to 80% of their income of food, will be hit hardest according to the charity. It said the world is entering an era of permanent food crisis, which is likely to be accompanied by political unrest and will require radical reform of the international food system. Research to be published on Wednesday forecasts international prices of staples such as maize could rise by as much as 180% by 2030, with half of that rise due to the impacts of climate change. After decades of steady decline in the number of hungry people around the world, the numbers are rapidly increasing as demand outpaces food production. The average growth rate in agricultural yields has almost halved since 1990 and is set to decline to a fraction of 1% in the next decade. A devastating combination of factors – climate change, depleting natural resources, a global scramble for land and water, the rush to turn food into biofuels, a growing global population, and changing diets – have created the conditions for an increase in deep poverty. "We are sleepwalking towards an age of avoidable crisis," Oxfam's chief executive, Barbara Stocking, said. "One in seven people on the planet go hungry every day despite the fact that the world is capable of feeding everyone. The food system must be overhauled." http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/oxfam-food-prices-double-2030stay away from moving propellers - they bite blue skies from thai sky adventures good solid response-provoking keyboarding Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metalslug 36 #4 June 2, 2011 Land "grab" seems like an overly hostile term, does it not? This is a lease agreement, paid for legally and approved by the powers that be. Food production, employment and foreign investment in Africa. All good things, no ? According to the articles you referenced; If China, India and Saudi Arabia were to ignore these African lands and continue exclusively in their own countries then their cost of production, and therefore the cost of their products (food) would increase. I'm not quite understanding the "conflict" context of your post title. Perhaps you can enlighten me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
