Tag Archives: green
How Farmland Became Canada’s Hottest Real Estate Market
JEFF RUBIN The Globe and Mail Published Wednesday, Sep. 18 2013 Buy land, advised Mark Twain, because, as the punch line goes, they ain’t making any more of it. Fast forward to 2013 and that advice, as a look at prices for farmland shows, seems as prescient as ever. As any farmer will readily tell you, the agriculture business has had a tough run. Agriculture was once an economic mainstay. Turn back the clock to 1950 and the sector employed nearly a fifth of Canada’s work force. Today, agriculture accounts for less than 2 per cent of the country’s employed workers, while its share of gross domestic product is also a shadow of what it once was. Farm prices have languished for decades, as Canada’s population has shifted from rural to urban. By the 1990s, North America was losing two acres of productive farmland to development every minute. How the world has changed for Canada’s farmers in 2013. The hottest sector of the country’s real estate market is, you guessed it, farmland. The price of farmland in Canada has outpaced both residential and commercial real estate, gaining an average of 12 per cent over the last five years. In some hotspots, such as southwestern Ontario, the price-per-acre has been going up by as much as 50 per cent a year. Even pension plans and hedge funds have become players in the pursuit of prime agricultural land, interest that is only sending prices that much higher. If global food prices are any indication, such investments could be a solid bet. Over the last decade, global food prices have more than doubled, according to the United Nations FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in prices for international food commodities. The food riots stemming from that price inflation were part of the spark that set off the Arab Spring. So far this year prices have been falling, but they still remain within shouting distance of the record highs reached in 2011. The strength in global food prices is no accident. The growth in global food demand is unrelenting. Part of the reason is due to population growth. The world is at 7-billion people and counting. But that’s not the only thing straining food supply. World grain demand has also soared, as households in fast-growing Asian countries trade in rice bowls for cheeseburgers. It takes seven pounds of grain to raise a pound of beef. That’s a whole lot more than it takes to make a loaf of bread. The newfound economic clout in emerging economies such as China and India, which between them have roughly 2.5 billion people, has allowed more people to diversify their diets. In turn, global meat consumption has bounded ahead at double the rate of population growth over the last two decades. All that demand for protein bodes well for the world’s breadbaskets. That is if Mother Nature doesn’t get in the way first. A severe drought a few years ago forced Russia, the world’s third largest producer of wheat, barley and rye, to suspend grain exports for nearly a year. Before that a drought in China caused a spike in grain prices that affected everything from the price of pasta in Italy to the cost of tortillas in Mexico. Closer to home the US Midwest has been grinding through one of the worst droughts in more than half a century. Climate change scientists warn that droughts and other agricultural shocks will be even more common in the future. Against a backdrop of climbing temperatures, Canada sits in an interesting spot. With a wealth of arable land and 7 per cent of the world’s fresh water, Canada’s agricultural potential is considerable. It’s also possible the amount of land under cultivation in Canada could actually increase as global temperatures continue to rise and the wheat belt climbs farther north. Could it be that in the coming years we’ll also see farmers actually start reclaiming acres from far-flung suburbs? The idea is much more plausible now than it was only a few years ago. It was depressed farm prices that allowed prime agricultural land to be paved over in the first place. As food becomes more precious and more expensive, it will only add to the market forces that will push some of those farms to come back. Jeff Rubin is a former chief economist of CIBC World Markets and the author of the award-winning Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller as well as The End of Growth. Continue reading
The Politics of Palm Oil
Palm oil is Indonesia’s most valuable agricultural export and the industry employs nearly 2 million people. Indonesia has laws prohibiting the slash-and-burn method of clearing fields for large plantations, explains Pavin Chachavalpongpun, of Kyoto University’s Centre for Southeast Asian Studies. Yet allowances for small farmers and a regional culture of patronage politics may hamper enforcement. Growing global demand for palm oil – for cooking or even biofuels – contributes to choking smoke spreading from large fires in Indonesia to neighboring states, and the search for blame began. Foreign investors based in Singapore and Malaysia control more than two thirds of the total production of Indonesia’s palm oil, and small farmers represent about 40 percent of the industry. “Strong connections with leaders at the top can help lubricate all kinds of transactions,” Chachavalpongpun notes. “The intricate connections within the palm oil industry create an awkward situation, and more importantly, a crisis of good governance in Southeast Asia.” – YaleGlobal The Politics of Palm Oil Global demand for palm oil drives FDI in Indonesian plantations and rapid land clearing Pavin Chachavalpongpun YaleGlobal, 17 September 2013 Oil and smoke : Indonesian drive to export more palm oil (top) led to burning to clear land for plants and sent plumes of haze affecting the region. Singapore residents don masks to protect themselves. KYOTO: Palm oil plantations and processing have become a strategic industry for Indonesia. Palm oil is the country’s third largest export earner, contributing substantial foreign exchange earnings and providing opportunities for small-scale farmers to partake in this vibrant agro-business, thus developing the rural economy and spurring local employment. In Southeast Asia, palm oil is a traditional commodity dating back to the colonial period. But by the 1980s, increasingly high global demands for palm oil – for food products, cosmetics and even biofuels – led to industrial-scale plantations, particularly on Indonesia’s Sumatra and Kalimantan islands with their favorable climate and fertile, loamy soil conditions. In 2008, Indonesia’s replaced Malaysia as the world’s top exporter of palm oil as a result of a series of state-led programs designed to boost palm oil production, such as privatization of previously state-run estates. Today, Indonesia has 6 million hectares of oil palm plantations. It produces up to 25 million tons of palm oil annually, or half of the world’s total production, delivering around 5 percent of the country’s annual gross domestic product. This success is also due to the industry opening to foreign investment. Malaysia and Singapore happen to represent the majority of foreign investors, outnumbering those from outside the region. Through single investments and joint ventures with local companies, the two countries control more than two thirds of the total production of Indonesia’s palm oil. S moky haze from Sumatra poses economic loss and potential health hazards for Malaysia and Singapore. This context provides an inexorable correlation between investments from Malaysia and Singapore and the forest fires caused by the habitual slash-and-burn method used by farmers as a cheap and convenient way to clear the land for rapid turnaround of cultivation. This year in particular, the smoke haze from Sumatra has caused an even greater devastating impact on Malaysia and Singapore, in terms of economic loss and potential health hazards. The polluted haze reached dangerous levels in the two neighboring countries; Malaysia even declared a state of emergency in Muar and Ledang districts in the southern Johor state So when the governments of Malaysia and Singapore condemned Indonesian farmers, they seemed to overlook the fact that private firms from their own countries have played a major part in the outbreak of the smoke haze. A crisis of good governance is responsible for this transnational problem. Indonesia does have laws prohibiting slash and burn methods. For example, Article 78 of the 1999 Forestry Law stipulates that anyone found guilty of burning forests is subject to up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of Rp 5 billion (US$525,000). At the same time, Central Kalimantan issued its own regulation in 2008 which allows controlled burning by some small farmers. The rationale behind such regulation is that a complete ban would have adversely affected small producers and hurt the province’s rice output. A patronage system supports production, marketing and distribution of palm oil. One question that must be tackled is why can managers of commercial plantations of the palm oil in Indonesia continue to pose a threat to the environment and regional economy? Helena Varkke, who studies corporate communications and sustainable development, argues in a recent study that the regionalization of the oil palm plantation sector has shaped a political culture characterized by a deep-rooted patronage system. Owing to a similar shared culture of patronage politics, Malaysia and Singapore were successful in inserting themselves into the existing patronage networks in Indonesia, which are also operating in key industries like palm oil. In the palm-oil sector, the patronage system serves as an essential structure involving around the production, marketing and distribution, while connecting significant actors together to facilitate their businesses through legitimate mechanisms such as palm-oil consortiums. These consortiums normally consist of local producers, senior bureaucrats and influential businessmen who have forged close links with top national leaders. For example, in the case of Indonesia, a powerful politician plays a leading role in key decisions in the group which owns a large palm oil company. These decisions could cause a huge impact on the nation’s palm oil industry. For foreign companies, it is imperative to establish links with Indonesia’s powerful individuals or institutions to break into the industry. Several Malaysian companies doing palm oil business are significant investors with connections with Indonesian authorities, Varkkey explains. Singapore companies have in recent years also emerged as players in the Indonesian palm oil industry. Some of these conglomerates have become the world’s largest palm oil producers based in Indonesia. Normally, their board of directors consists of high-flying Singaporean personalities in politics and business. As an example of the existing patronage system, many Malaysian companies gained benefits from the Malaysian-Indonesian investment treaty in 1997 when Indonesia pledged to allocate 1.5 million hectares of land to Malaysian investors for palm oil development. Following the pattern of Indonesia’s patronage system, Malaysian and Singaporean companies found the need to build relations with local strongmen and the national leaders of Indonesia. From setting up subsidiaries, earning licences to production and property rights to plantation lands, to appointing influential Indonesian figures to sit on the board, Malaysian and Singaporean companies have further entrenched the patronage politics within the palm oil industry. Strong connections with leaders at the top can help lubricate all kinds of transactions. G overnments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore must delve into the roots of their shared problem. Peatlands are suitable for oil palm, yet also extremely prone to fire. Under such sensitive conditions, the Indonesian government enacted legislation in 1999 for the control on proportions of peatlands used for palm oil plantations and the ban on slash-and-burn tactics. Often, such legislation is ignored, simply because of protections offered to firms by those of influence within the Indonesian government and a lack of enforcement. Thus, plantations prefer ground burning instead of the more expensive and inconvenient mechanical approach to clear land using excavators and bulldozers. Indonesia’s Duta Palma is one the companies with the worst record in illegal burning, Varkke claims. And many political leaders largely remained silent or showed indifference when the smoke struck Singapore and Malaysia in June, with one party member telling Singapore to stop acting like a child. Some state agencies, like the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Commission, work closely with a local NGO, Indonesia Corruption Watch, and are investigating a number of cases involving foreign companies and alleged illegal land clearing. But their efforts are stonewalled by the Indonesian courts. Instead of acting in defence of good governance, courts choose to protect the powerful in the industry in which they have vested interests. In 2010, an unnamed Malaysian-owned plantation was brought to court, but the case was stopped from continuing on to a higher court. The intricate cross-border connections within the palm oil industry create an awkward situation and, more importantly, a crisis of good governance in Southeast Asia. With name-calling and scapegoating over the polluted haze, the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have engaged in a rhetorical exercise. In reality, all parties are skating around the real issues, discomforted over delving too deeply into the root of their shared problem. Pavin Chachavalpongpun is associate professor at Kyoto University’s Centre for Southeast Asian Studies. Continue reading
Fendi l’Acquarossa (2013): Oud 2.0 or the New Strange, Invisible Aesthetic Compass {Perfume Review & Musings}
Smelling L’Acquarossa for the first time in principle, I realize I smelled it on a passer-by, just the other day. I had noticed a bold, fruity perfume which I identified after a while as Deci-Delà by Nina Ricci (1994). This was an unconventional choice, I thought, as the scent must be by now worn by the faithful only. On the other hand, with its raspberry-oud note, it is on-trend. It turns out the new L’Acquarossa by Fendi is reminiscent of that earlier perfume. The composition co-signed by François Demachy working together with Delphine Lebeau and Benoist Lapouza. It is advertized as a woody floral… The dominant impression at first is that the perfume is “sophisticated” — make it even “very sophisticated”. As the scent evolves, this intangible sensation deepens. It smells sleek, polished, supple, and feline. Chiara Mastroiannithe spokesperson for the fragrance – the daughter of Belle de Jour Catherine Deneuve and La Dolce Vita Marcello Mastroianni – looks a bit wooden in the picture signed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino – except for her face which is pensive – but the fragrance itself suggests the movements of a supple, elegant body evolving in an environment of ease and privilege. A woman, who is more of a professional than a hostess, traverses a luxurious living room, with a sense of purpose. The perfumers devoted much of their efforts to carving out this note of sophistication. It is a social impression rather than a sensory perception as when you smell a flower, yet real. Fendi is part of the LVMH conglomerate which includes the brand of Guerlain. It is not surprising therefore to discover that in the midst of this new juice there is a recognizable rose accord, the one found in Idylle by Guerlain . Past the exuberant opening, it smells of a dusky rose with touches of tobacco (Idylle) made creamier by the addition of magnolia. A note of prune recalls an earlier Fendi like Theorema (1998) making sure Fendi aficionados will tread in familiar terrain. The main olfactory pitch for the fragrance rests on the red and golden Lantana flowers. Some research yields the facts that he plant belongs to the Verbena family; both their flowers and leaves release aromas; Lantanas are known to gardeners as deer-repellants and as butterfly-attractants. There is an essential oil of Lantana Camara. Its smell can be compared to that of Davana as it contains the molecule Davanone. This facet smells fruity and pruney and is evocative of dark black, thick and sweet Georgian wines. It also contains some Camphor. This is why its odor profile can be described as being in-between raspberry and mint. The Lantana confers a subtle herbaceous facet to l’Acquarossa which is more subliminal than with galbanum although you can approximate it to it. Without making use of oud, this composition manages to play on the range of oud thanks to the inclusion of Lantana. The introduction of this new oud note which was so new a few years ago is hitting a further stage of psychological maturation. You are now thrumming the secondary nuances of this new taste for oud, or agarwood. Raspberry becomes thicker and more intense. Pruney is good. Woods are in. Oud has become a significant cultural marker of our olfactory orientations rather than just a note of fashion. You look up to oud and think “what variation could be thought of?” It is like an early 21st century twist in reverse on the fresheness rage of the 1990s. This is why the early Deci-Delà by Nina Ricci with its discreet oud-y impression has crept back in the range of sensations evoked by the sillage of l’Acquarossa as you smelled it the other day in a state of innocence. Oud has become an aesthetic and moral compass for our noses. We are refining our ways away from it, yet make no mistake, it is acting as an olfactory North Pole in a strange, invisible manner. Notes: Calabrian bergamot, Mandarin from Sicily, prune accord, Lantana, rose essence, orange blossom, magnolia, red cedar wood, musk, Patchouli from Indonesia. Read more at http://www.mimifrouf…BpISiwclS0S5.99 Continue reading
