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crops with greater yields; from another come lawsuits to stop it. And
from yet another come pleas to mount a greener Green Revolution.

Alexander Evans, author of a recent paper on food prices published by
Chatham House, a British research institution, said: "This time
around, it needs to be more efficient in its use of water, in its use
of energy, in its use of fertilizer and land."

Mr. Swaminathan wants to dedicate villages to sowing lentils and
oilseeds, to meet demand. The World Bank, meanwhile, favors high-value
crops, like Mr. Chawla's baby corn, because they allow farmers to
maximize their income from small holdings.

The market may yet help India. Mr. Chawla, for instance, has replaced
baby corn with sunflowers, prompted by the high price of sunflower
oil. For the same reason, he is also considering planting more wheat.

Hari Kumar contributed reporting.

<http://blogs.reuters.com/pakistan/2008/06/16/should-pakistan-grow-food-for=
-the-gulf/>
June 16th, 2008
Should Pakistan grow food for the Gulf?
Posted by: Myra MacDonald
Tags: Pakistan: Now or Never, Dubai, farmland, food, oil, Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, United Arab Emirates, Wheat

Queuing to buy wheat flour in Peshawar/May file photoThis is an idea
that looks crazy at first glance =97 Pakistan, struggling with its own
food shortages and rising prices, rents out its farmland to grow
grains for the rich Gulf states instead.

But the idea appears to be gaining momentum. Saudi Arabia is holding
talks with officials in Pakistan [LINK:
<http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Agflation/idUSL1420967720080614?sp=3Dtr=
ue>],
among other countries, to set up projects to grow wheat and other
grains to protect itself from crises in world food supplies.
Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj Capital has already said it is
looking at investing in agriculture in Pakistan [LINK:
<http://www.reuters.com/article/privateEquity/idUSL1273369520080512>]
and other Gulf countries are also showing an interest [LINK:
<http://southasiainvestor.blogspot.com/2008/06/investors-rush-to-buy-farmla=
nd-in.html>].

So is this good or bad news for Pakistan?

U.S. News & World Report [LINK:
<http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/world/2008/06/12/countries-are-renting=
-farmland-abroad.html>]
says there may be "potential for large and enduring benefits on both
sides. The reported sellers of under-developed farmland, Pakistan and
Sudan, for example, are poor and lack the resources to make their own
land productive," it says. "Foreign investment is meant to help the
investor, but in these cases it might also help the host countries by
improving roads and irrigation and, of course, providing cash."

The Financial Times last month quoted a senior Pakistani official
[LINK: <http://www.gulfnews.com/BUSINESS/Investment/10212801.html>] as
saying of the talks to sell farmland to the United Arab Emirates: "Our
aim is not to do away with precious farmland but in fact to raise the
productivity of our farms and turn barren land in to fertile
farmland."

On the positive side is the potential for big investments in Pakistan
from wealthy Gulf economies looking to use windfall oil profits to
diversify away from oil.  According to one expert [LINK:
<http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssInvestmentServices/idUSB62711920080616?=
sp=3Dtrue>],
the cumulative sovereign wealth fund wealth in the Middle East is now
about 1.5 trillion dollars, mostly in the United Arab Emirates; and
their assets could triple or quadruple in five to 10 years time.

Pakistan also has an interest in keeping relations sweet with Saudi
Arabia as it seeks a deal on deferred oil payments [LINK:
<http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=3D10=
&bKeyFlag=3DIN&autono=3D39746>]
to ease its own financial crisis. Is this the beginning of a new
version of oil for food deals?

On the negative side are all the issues about sovereignty and economic
control. And of course the perennial question in emerging markets.
What will it mean for the poor man who is already struggling to feed
his family.