Tag Archives: expansion
EcoPlanet Bamboo’s Expansion Plans Target 1 Million Acres of Degraded Land
PRWeb Published 7:05 pm, Thursday, August 8, 2013 EcoPlanet Bamboo’s plantations have received independent accreditation from a range of institutions, from the World Bank to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Such accreditation demonstrates that a for-profit company can earn strong financial returns in a sustainable and transparent way, while positively impacting the lives of the poor, improving the environment, and protecting the planet. Barrington, IL (PRWEB) August 08, 2013 Increasing demand for timber and fiber continues to put pressure on forests globally, and although sustainability issues are a hot topic, market economics ultimately win and the forest loses. Over the past three years EcoPlanet Bamboo has driven the development of commercial plantations of non invasive tropical clumping bamboo around one core pillar – to set in stone the benchmarks and framework for the industrialization of bamboo as an alternative fiber in a way that addresses issues of social and environmental concern. EcoPlanet Bamboo’s recently concluded first phase of growth, the strategically located reforestation of approximately 10,000 acres of highly degraded land, in some of the poorest and least developed regions of Central America and Southern Africa, was focused on being demonstrative. Proving that bamboo could be successfully produced at a commercial scale across different species and climates from both seed and tissue culture plantlets; proving that climate change benefits (accredited by the Verified Carbon Standard), as well as biodiversity and social co-benefits (accredited by the Climate, Community, Biodiversity Alliance) could be achieved; and ultimately proving that bamboo could be produced in a truly sustainable manner through the early acquisition of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Forest Management certification for the Rio Siquia and Rio Kama plantations. In addition to these certifications, EcoPlanet Bamboo’s plantations have received independent accreditation from a range of institutions, from the World Bank to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Such accreditation demonstrates that a for-profit company can earn strong financial returns in a sustainable and transparent way, while positively impacting the lives of the poor, improving the environment, and protecting the planet. EcoPlanet Bamboo is hopeful that this success will set a new global benchmark for the industrialization of bamboo. With this framework strongly in place to guide the development of each new plantation, EcoPlanet Bamboo has set its sights on a second phase of growth – achieving the reforestation of 1 million acres of highly degraded land into fully functioning commercial bamboo forests, with a focus on Southeast Asia, Brazil and Africa. Split into manageable operations of 25,000 – 100,000 acres, these are to be dedicated plantations; each one co-developed alongside timber dependent manufacturing companies within strategic locations globally, providing them the ability to create a long-term competitive price advantage, secure supply and a meeting of each entity’s sustainability goals. “While our achievements to date are still a long way from our 1,000,000 acre goal, they have proved not only that we can, but that we are committed to industrializing bamboo in a way that benefits the local community, is environmentally positive, and enables the feedstock security that multinational corporations require to ultimately move away from unsustainable logging practices, and make the switch to an alternative fiber,” says Troy Wiseman, CEO of EcoPlanet Bamboo Group. For the original version on PRWeb visit:[url=”http://www.prweb.com…web11010766.htm”] http://www.prweb.com…web11010766.htm Continue reading
Slower Global Agricultural Production Growth
FAO expects slower global agricultural production growth due to Limited expansion of agricultural land. 27 JUN 2013 WDM Group PR Network PR.com)– A new report published by the FAO revealed that global agricultural production is expected to grow 1.5 percent a year on average over the coming decade, compared with annual growth of 2.1 percent between 2003 and 2012. Limited expansion of agricultural land, rising production costs, growing resource constraints and increasing environmental pressures are the main factors behind the trend. The report added that the FAO believes that prices will remain above historical averages over the medium term for both crop and livestock products due to a combination of slower production growth and stronger demand, including for biofuels. The findings of the FAO report support Agcapita’s belief that fundamentals are in favor of farmland investment. Agcapita believes farmland is a safe investment, that supply is shrinking and that unprecedented demand for “food, feed and fuel” will continue to move crop prices higher over the long-term. Agcapita’s series of farmland funds continue to show great appeal to conservative investors concerned with inflation and the volatility of their existing public equity investments. Farmland has similar inflation hedging qualities to gold but with an ongoing cash yield that gold lacks. Farmland returns exhibit low volatility and this combined with the high absolute returns from farmland equate to a favorable Sharpe ratio. Agcapita’s funds directly hold diversified portfolios of farmland in western Canada, and in particular in the highly price competitive province of Saskatchewan. Investors are provided with the comfort of a direct investment in farmland combined with a model of front-end loaded cash rents. Agcapita Farmland Fund IV has launched in April 2013 with a $20 million offering. Agcapita is the only farmland investment fund eligible for registered plans (RRSP, TFSA, RESP etc). Fund IV is open to investors in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland and accredited investors in Quebec. If you are interested in finding out more about the Fund IV offering please feel free to email us on enquiries@farmlandinvestmentpartnership.com This news release may contain certain information that is forward looking and, by its nature, such forward-looking information is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The words “anticipate,” “expect,” “may,” “should” “estimate,” “project,” “outlook,” “forecast” or other similar words are used to identify such forward looking information. Those forward-looking statements herein made by Agcapita, if any, reflect Agcapita’s beliefs and assumptions based on information available at the time the statements were made (including, without limitation, that (i) the demand for agricultural commodities will continue to grow at a pace that is unlikely to be matched by growth in agricultural productivity, and (ii) investment demand for tangible assets such as agricultural commodities and farmland will continue to increase for the foreseeable future). Actual results or events may differ from those anticipated or predicted in these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be material. Factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: risks associated with the ownership and operation of farmland, including fluctuations in interest rates, rental rates and vacancy rates; general economic conditions; local real estate markets; supply and demand for farmland; competition for available farmland; weather; crop diseases; the price of grain and other agricultural commodities; changes in legislation and the regulatory environment; and international trade and global political conditions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information contained in this news release (if any), which is given as of the date it is expressed herein. Agcapita’s undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contact Information: Agcapita Partners Karim Kadry +1-587-887-1541 Contact via Email www.agcapita.com Read the full story here: http://www.pr.com/press-release/496931 Press Release Distributed by PR.com Continue reading
Peak Farmland Grinds Against Cropland Expansion
by Chris Bennett in Farm Press Blog Welcome to Peak Farmland. The belief that a human plague is gobbling up the Earth has been turned on its head. The belief that a human plague is gobbling up the Earth, carving out more cropland, and hacking down more trees — has been turned on its head. Welcome to Peak Farmland. Farmland expansion has reached its crest and the amount of global land needed to grow food is set to stabilize. That’s the opinion of three Rockefeller University researchers in a recent study: “ Peak Farmland and the Prospects for Sparing Nature .” If the report is on target, global cropland use will shrink by an astounding 370 million acres — about the equivalent of two Californias and one Texas — by 2060. Jessie Ausubel, one of the report authors, says, “Happily, the cause is not exhaustion of arable land, as many had feared, but rather moderation of population and tastes and ingenuity of farmers.” Ausubel and his colleagues believe crop technology will allow agricultural yields to win the race against demand — and it won’t be a neck-and-neck finish. In short, approximately 570,000 square miles of Earth will be abandoned as farmland.) But, as Reuters points out, the Rockefeller report may be a house of cards — buttressed by too much guesswork. “Ausubel’s study admits to making many assumptions — rising crop yields, slowing population growth, a relatively slow rise in the use of crops to produce biofuels, moderate rises in meat consumption — that could all skew the outcome…” The Rockefeller report is in direct conflict with the UN and grinds against a 2009 Food and Agricultural Organization study that projects a 5 percent worldwide expansion of arable land by 2050 — 173 million more acres of farmland will be needed. (That’s the approximate total acreage of California and New Mexico combined.) The UN study projects 9.1 billion people by 2050, requiring a 70 percent increase in food production. Imminent acreage expansion is not just a UN projection. Foreign investment companies across the globe are snapping up farmland in developing countries, anticipating the food rush to come. Speculators see this new land “scramble” as a sure-bet, based on food demand and biofuels mandates. (For example, Spiegel reports that 100 percent of Liberia’s arable land has been bought by foreigners.) Trends over the next few years will show who is right: Ausubel or the UN. The Peak Farmland study is anathema to apocalyptic boilerplate. “We are a plague on the Earth. It’s coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so,” says naturalist and BBC documentary maker David Attenborough. Attenborough told Radio Times there is far more in the tea leaves than ecological doom: “…It’s sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde.” In line with convention, Attenborough believes global agricultural production will never be able to keep up with population increases — and proponents of Peak Farmland believe he is dead wrong. Twitter: @CBennett71 Continue reading
