Affluent countries like Saudi Arabia, South Korea, China and India are acquiring or leasing huge tracts of fertile plains across the African continent to produce wheat, rice and corn for consumption back home, in response to rising global food prices and reduced exportation of commodities.



Land grabs to the south are threatening Egypt’s ability to put bread on the table because all of Egypt’s grain is either imported or produced with water from the Nile River, which flows north through Ethiopia and Sudan before reaching Egypt. Growing water demand, driven by population growth and foreign land (and water) acquisitions, are straining the Nile’s natural limits.

An article from the Earth Policy Institute suggests that ways to avoid dangerous conflicts over water will include initiatives such as government addressing population management through family planning services; adoption of more water-efficient irrigation technologies and shift to less water-intensive crops; and a collaborative ban of land grabs by foreign governments and agribusiness firms.


ACT’s Climate Change Adaptation & Water Governance policy research project has been studying North American policy for water rights and uses. Results will be published in mid-September 2011.