The Global Farmland Rush: dark side of capitalism, chapt. 34 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

cmac2012 · #1 02-07-2013, 12:33 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/opinion/the-global-farmland-rush.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130206&_r=0

Quote:

OVER the last decade, as populations have grown, capital has flowed across borders and crop yields have leveled off, food-importing nations and private investors have been securing land abroad to use for agriculture. Poor governments have embraced these deals, but their people are in danger of losing their patrimony, not to mention their sources of food.

According to Oxfam, land equivalent to eight times the size of Britain was sold or leased worldwide in the last 10 years. In northern Mozambique, a Brazilian-Japanese venture plans to farm more than 54,000 square miles — an area comparable to Pennsylvania and New Jersey combined — for food exports. In 2009, a Libyan firm leased 386 square miles of land from Mali without consulting local communities that had long used it. In the Philippines, the government is so enthusiastic to promote agribusiness that it lets foreigners register partnerships with local investors as domestic corporations.

The commoditization of global agriculture has aggravated the destabilizing effects of these large-scale land grabs. Investors typically promise to create local jobs and say that better farming technologies will produce higher crop yields and improve food security.

However, few of these benefits materialize. For example, as The Economist reported, a Swiss company promised local farmers 2,000 new jobs when it acquired a 50-year lease to grow biofuel crops on 154 square miles in Makeni, Sierra Leone; in the first three years, it produced only 50.

Many investors, in fact, use their own labor force, not local workers, and few share their technology and expertise. Moreover, about two-thirds of foreign investors in developing countries expect to sell their harvests elsewhere. These exports may not even be for human consumption. In 2008 in Sudan, the United Arab Emirates was growing sorghum, a staple of the Sudanese diet, to feed camels back home.

Skippy · #2 02-07-2013, 01:36 AM

When I lived back east, I always used to see a lot of land not being put to any apparent use that looked like it would make good farm or pasture land. No one did anything to it and it was naturally green, so you could grow something useful on it, right?

Here, what little land is good for farming gets used for farming. BLM owns a lot of land that is ok for low intensity cattle or sheep grazing, but not much else. I'd like to see BLM give up a lot of that land in favor of state or local control or (gasp

) private ownership.

kerry · #3 02-10-2013, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skippy

When I lived back east, I always used to see a lot of land not being put to any apparent use that looked like it would make good farm or pasture land. No one did anything to it and it was naturally green, so you could grow something useful on it, right?

Here, what little land is good for farming gets used for farming. BLM owns a lot of land that is ok for low intensity cattle or sheep grazing, but not much else. I'd like to see BLM give up a lot of that land in favor of state or local control or (gasp

) private ownership.

Lots of BLM land is leased out for grazing. See the book, Sacred Cows at the Public Trough.

Botnst · #4 02-07-2013, 07:20 AM

Profit is made from increased efficiencies.

Air&Road · #5 02-07-2013, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Botnst

Profit is made from increased efficiencies.

That is certainly the truth! What took multiple workers to farm about 60 or 70 years ago is done by one person and expen$ive machinery these days.

I noticed the other day, that a new High Boy, a relatively simple piece of farm machinery now costs about a 1/4 million bucks.

Benz Dr. · #6 02-08-2013, 01:40 AM

Land costs have increased dramaticly in my area over the past few years. 5 - 15K per acre isn't uncommon. The ratio is about 50:1 in terms of cost to productive value.

Farm land is taxed at 25% of residential but that can be adjusted if needed. There's some fear that a large portion of taxes will be shifted over to farmers because their land is worth so more, even though they require very little in terms of services from local government.
Not sure how it will play out. Farm land is rising in price faster than housing and it could stay that way for a while. This is also increasing the cost of rented land which is about 200.00 per acre on average.

barry12345 · #7 02-08-2013, 10:11 AM

I have been thinking about aquiring a decent acreage for the extended familys future. While they are still available cheap. Just in case the general economy ever gets into really serious difficulty. Get it close to a built up area and in future years it may even become a housing development for them to profit from.

At least they could feed themselves and basic farmland locally if not of a size that interests large growers is still fairly cheap still. It could even be rented out for now or worked with smaller equipment than is now common if the farmed portion where not too large.

Since the worlds population continues to seriously expand in past and recent times food production and cost will always be a growth area. Taxes locally on a small farm are minimal . No one can acuratly predict the longer term with any real certainty. It may be a better thing to leave instead of all cash and the type of assets that are not really self sustaining for our survivors and decendants yet to come.

kerry · #8 02-10-2013, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barry12345

I have been thinking about aquiring a decent acreage for the extended familys future. While they are still available cheap. Just in case the general economy ever gets into really serious difficulty. Get it close to a built up area and in future years it may even become a housing development for them to profit from.

At least they could feed themselves and basic farmland locally if not of a size that interests large growers is still fairly cheap still. It could even be rented out for now or worked with smaller equipment than is now common if the farmed portion where not too large.

Since the worlds population continues to seriously expand in past and recent times food production and cost will always be a growth area. Taxes locally on a small farm are minimal . No one can acuratly predict the longer term with any real certainty. It may be a better thing to leave instead of all cash and the type of assets that are not really self sustaining for our survivors and decendants yet to come.

Smart thinking there.

R Leo · #9 02-09-2013, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Air&Road

I noticed the other day, that a new High Boy, a relatively simple piece of farm machinery now costs about a 1/4 million bucks.

What is a "tall boy?"

elchivito · #10 02-09-2013, 09:42 AM

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Originally Posted by R Leo

What is a "tall boy?"

a 16 oz. beer of course

R Leo · #11 02-09-2013, 12:11 PM

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Originally Posted by elchivito

a 16 oz. beer of course

Silly me.

cmbdiesel · #12 02-11-2013, 01:13 PM

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Originally Posted by R Leo

What is a "tall boy?"

What I want to know is how many of these things is Larry drinking...

1/4 mil seems like quite a few...

Benz Dr. · #13 02-11-2013, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R Leo

What is a "tall boy?"

I think it's actually called a '' high boy '' which is a self propelled, agricultural sprayer, that can run through high crops such as corn.

cmbdiesel · #14 02-11-2013, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benz Dr.

I think it's actually called a '' high boy '' which is a self propelled, agricultural sprayer, that can run through high crops such as corn.

Tall Boy - Widespread Panic - YouTube

cmac2012 · #15 02-09-2013, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Botnst

Profit is made from increased efficiencies.

All bow to the God of profit.

Something unseemly about impoverishing people in their own back yard so that nations who have paved over their farmland in pursuit of profit and general over-population can use that farmland for their own purposes.