Riaz Haq points to an interesting story of a 41-year old British Entrepreneur who is leasing out small portions of 25,000 acres of farm-land to poor farmers in Western Ukraine. They hope to capitalize on the high price of food with a big harvest later in the Fall.

The opportunity for entrepreneurs is to find ways to increase arable land, by finding a way of re-possessing land in former communist countries and boosting production. According to Mr. Haq:

The total combined arable land in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan that fed the former Soviet Union adds up to about 437m acres, almost the same as the total arable land in the United States. Among other nations with large arable acreage, India has 400m acres, China has about 350m acres and Brazil 146m acres. Of these countries, only China and Brazil have increased total arable land by about 10% over the last decade while others have shrunk. Compared to these nation, Pakistan has about 50m acres of arable land. And, given appropriate investments, Pakistan can increase its arable land by 10-20% over the next decade.

The current food crisis presents an opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors to invest in Pakistan’s farm sector and reap big benefits. The new government in Pakistan should seize this opportunity by formulating a new policy of investment in the agriculture sector to bring prosperity to rural areas in Pakistan and help feed the nation and the world.

I wonder what other types of initiatives by enterprising minds can help with the food crisis. More thoughts on it later (I’m still hopping between airports and hotels so need to think about this with a clearer head).

Share This