Farmland Investment in Central Europe

Invest in farmland in the new EU country of Lithuania

One excellent area to consider investing in farmland are the new EU countries of central and Eastern Europe.  In many of these countries, the price of agricultural land is well below that of the richer EU countries, and over time as incomes gradually converge the value of farmland will slowly rise as well.  In addition, the new EU countries are receiving substantial subsidies from Brussels for their agriculture sectors, which will greatly help increase the value of farmland in the region.  Here are some highlights of GreenWorld's investment in European farmland:

• The farmland investment is in Lithuania.
• It involves direct ownership of farmland.  This is not an agriculture stock fund or the like, but actual ownership of farmland, allowing you to follow Jim Rogers and other farmland investors into this asset class.
• This is a purely passive investment.  Everything from the planting to the cultivation to the sale of the crop is done for you by the farm managers.
• Track record - the land forms part of a farm which has been farmed profitably for 10 years.
• The land is substantially undervalued when compared to similar EU countries.
• The main crop produced from the land is wheat, which is in a long-term upward trend and is one of Jim Rogers' favorite commodities to own for the next 10-20 years.
• There is a shortage of food and world food consumption is set to double by 2050.
• Investments start from just £5,325/US$8,300 an acre (including the cultivation fee).

Jim Rogers - Play High Agriculture Prices by Investing in Farmland

Jim Rogers: "Invest in Agriculture and Farmland" 

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal noted that legendary commodities investor and agriculture investing proponent Jim Rogers recently spoke at the Global AgInvesting conference, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.  Speaking to the  audience on the theme of investing in agriculture, Rogers noted that farmland investments were a great way to take advantage of  the agricultural investing theme.  According to the article in the Wall Street Journal:

Farmland has become a popular asset class among investors. By owning a piece of agricultural land, investors expect to see cash flows based on the proceeds. But it requires a big upfront investment and is not exactly liquid. To fill that void, many farmland investment companies are being set up to attract those who want a piece of the land but don’t want the hassle of hiring farmers, planting or irrigating. Dismissing the bubble talk surrounding farmland investment, Mr. Rogers said the investment idea is probably “in its third inning.”

 As we noted in a previous post, Jim Rogers recently established an Australian farmland investment fund.  We at GreenWorld are also involved with a farmland investment in Australia.  However, whilst the Jim Rogers farmland fund is targeted at high net worth individuals, the GreenWorld Australian farmland project is targeted at individual retail investors.  GreenWorld also offers a unique farmland investment in Africa we discussed in this previous post, as well as a farmland investment in Europe.  For those interested in exploring any of GreenWorld's farmland investments, please contact us at info@greenworldbvi.com or ring us on +44-20-3286-2975.

For those interested, here is the article from the Wall Street Journal on Jim Rogers and farmland.

Summary of GreenWorld's High Dividend Farmland Investment in Africa

Profitable Farm Farmland Investment in Africa - An Overview
    Project is a SIPP Eligible Investment
    Leasehold title registered in investor's name - DIRECT Ownership of farmland, not just a farmland fund
    Projected dividend income yield targets 15pc per year from rice harvests - the last harvest produced a dividend yield to investors of 16.2%
    Annual appreciation in the value of the farmland targets 7pc per annum.
    Currently over 50,000 acres of farmland under management
    Non-cyclical investment – excellent diversification from a traditional portfolio of stocks and bonds
Interested?  Contact info@greenworldbvi.com or ring us on +44-20-3286-2975

High Income Yielding GreenWorld Rice Farmland Investment in Africa

    

How Can a Retail Investor Invest in Farmland?

One of the things we hear constantly about farmland is some variant of "its a great idea, I know lots of big institutional investors are going into the asset class, but how can I as as an individual make an investment in farmland?"  There is the perception that one needs to make a huge investment and actually own a farm, hire out a farm manager etc.  The good thing though is that it is now possible for individual investors to make investing in farmland a part of their portfolio.   The method for this is to pool a number of individual investors' capital together to purchase a large parcel of land, and then divide it into individual parcels to offer to investors. Farmland investments for individuals generally pay a regular yearly dividend from the sale of crops, and also provide the opportunity for long-term capital gains as farmland continues to increase in value.  Of course, an alternative investment like farmland should only constitute a small percentage of an overall portfolio, but the option is now absolutely possible. Below is a summary of GreenWorld's farmland investments for individuals:

• farmland investment in Africa
• farmland Investment in Europe 
• Australian Farmland Investments

Farmland a safe haven from today's economic situation

In today's economic climate of volatile stock markets, negative returns from bonds and term deposits plus the uncertainty surrounding the economies of most western countries, Farmland stands out as an asset class that can not only be a safe haven but is likely to provide a return that at least keeps up with inflation and preserves your capital.

For example our Australian Farmland investment, has a projected annual return of 8% plus the opportunity for capital gain. Australian Farmland has averaged greater than 10% annual increase prior to 2010 (see here). This investment is designed for retail investors with low minimum investment.

To be sure of the safety of the capital you invest, it helps if you can invest at prices that are a good discount to land values in similar countries, here is where Australian land is the pick of the bunch. At an average $1600 to $1700 USD/ ha Australian Farmland is a bargain compared to the likes of the UK and even New Zealand.

Driven by increasing Global food demand, limited availability of arable land and situated within a politically stable country, investing in Australian Farmland is arguably one of the safest places to store your wealth.

For me the icing on the cake, with this investment, is that economic drivers like population demographics are pretty much beyond the meddling of local politicians printing and spending themselves to political success!!

To have a look at our opportunity follow the link here.

Investment in Farmland: African Farmland is the Next Frontier

A very interesting piece here from the Wall Street Journal on the rapid rise of private capital in African farmland investments.The article has some very interesting statistics:

"To meet growing global food demand the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization estimates an extra six million hectares need to be brought under cultivation every year for the next 30 years. With sub-Saharan Africa estimated to hold up to 60% of the world's remaining uncultivated land."

The article also references a private equity fund called Emergent Asset Management here in London that is purely dedicated to investing in African farmland.  It sounds quite intriguing - until one sees the price tag which calls for a minimum investment of US$500,000 for individuals!

However, if you are intrigued by this type of investment in farmland, we are pleased to say that our unique farmland investment in Africa starts at only £5,850 (which is approximately 6,400 Euros and US$9,500).  The investment recently paid a 16.2 pc dividend yield, and was awarded the "Alternative Investment of the Year" award from a prestigious UK property association.  The key is that the price of farmland in Africa starts at such a low base that both high yield and tremendous upside in land values are possible.  The target return is yearly dividend of 15 pc dividend yield, with a 7 pc yearly upside in capital value of the land (although in practice its been way more than just 7 pc so far).  Like all farmland investments, this one is meant to be held for the medium to long term, although it can be sold at any time.  The initial phase of the project is selling out quickly, but additional acres are being purchased by the project developers due to the high demand from retail investors whom are keen to add some diversification to their portfolios in these unsteady times.  And, all of our projects, including this one, are SIPP eligible investments for UK citizens.

China's Arable Land Shortage and the Case for Farmland Investing

China's will shortly be releasing its annual white paper on agriculture. Here is this year's white paper. As the attached graph clearly shows, China's arable farmland has been shrinking precipitously. How to play the Chinese interest in farmland investing as well as the broader macro-economic perspective of shrinking arable farmland globally? Basic supply and demand indicates that when there is an increasing shortage of an asset along with a growing demand, prices go up. Hence, it is inevitable that as China and other emerging market countries continue to grow and get richer, the demands on existing farmland will become higher and farmland investments will increase in value.

Please consider our three farmland investment opportunities:

Farmland investment in Africa

Farmland investment in Europe

Farmland investment in Australia