Could Africa Feed the World?

The attraction of Africa’s last great resource—its fertile land—is drawing dozens of foreign corporations and even national governments to the African mainland, developing the same kind of agricultural plots contemplated by Daewoo in Madagascar. Africa is drawing dozens of corporate giants like Daewoo and even governments of such nations as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Japan, and even India (which is food self-sufficient) to grow the food and biofuel crops they need back home. The coup in Madagascar and food riots in Mozambique last August are a warning sign of the volatility of the global balance of wealth and poverty that foreign investors and African leaders face.