News

July 07, 2008

Big Demand For Farmland In Indonesia, Russia and Ukraine

By Sally White

Money is chasing growing investment opportunities in agriculture, with a US$65 million Saudi Arabian consortium the latest, the plan being to develop rice fields in Indonesia. A group of 15 investors is expected to develop around 10,000 hectares each. Around the other side of the world, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) reported, there has been a surge of investment interest for farmland in Russia and the Ukraine.

The potential for increasing rice production is one of the factors that led Indonesia to announce ambitious plans of becoming a major rice exporter by 2009. Until recently it was a major importer. The region chosen is Papua, which is a fairly remote and dry area, so another requirement is additional infrastructure – ports, roads and irrigation systems. Work on these has already started.

The rush for land in Russia and the Ukraine was “a bit of a frenzy”, EBRD deputy director Sevki Acuner told...