Global food production has been steadily gaining importance as world population increases and emerging market’s food demands expand and evolve and Canadian institutions have been exploring the investment opportunities in the agribusiness and farmland sectors. This year the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board made its first direct investment in farmland in a portfolio of U.S. farmland and plans to expand into Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The Ontario Teacher’s Pension Fund has created a ‘natural resources’ asset class that will, in part, invest in agriculture. In 2012 Caisse de dépôt et placement du Quebec and British Columbia Investment Management Corp. joined TIAA-CREF to create a global agriculture investment vehicle with $2 billion marked for the purchase of farmland in the U.S., Australia, and Brazil. And in 2011, the Alberta Investment Management Corp. joined with a forestry management firm to acquire $415 million of timberland in Australia. According to Savil’s Global Farmland Index, between 2002-2010 global farmland values increased by as much as 1,800% with the most movement in emerging markets. To read more about the future of the global farmland market:
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