Agricultural Land Investment

Investment opportunity:

Food, Water & Energy (FWE SA) own and manage directly or indirectly 60,000 hectares of land in South America and Europe, 15,000 of which is under intensive productivity. The company personnel have owned and operated farmland for the last 28 years, so have a wealth of farming experience. There is no debt attached to the land, and we are not raising at the moment more funds to purchase further land. Funding is to be used for cleansing more land and make it arable, new irrigation systems where applicable, access roads, storage facilities, crushing systems (oil, biodiesel and cattle feed) etc. We simply want to get more of our land into production. The land is used for growing crops, wheat, soy, sunflower, barley, sorghum etc. Since we operate in the area we have cooperated with the local authorities to produce new jobs, support the local communities and a fierce fight to eradicate corruption and poverty.

Much of the agricultural land in South America is very productive, with low production costs. The land produces two harvests every 12-14 months. The use of fertilizer or pesticides is absolutely minimal and the labour costs are much lower than in the developed countries.

Investing with us:

If you are interested in investing with us we will be glad to discuss with you all the details of the investment. Investors have the choice of investing as a private individual or via a SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension) investment vehicle, it has been accepted by a number the UK's SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension) providers, and all parties agree to be governed by English Law.

Please contact us for full details of the current agricultural land investment open to investors.

Please also contact us for a list of the accepted SIPP providers. We are happy to approach other SIPP providers if yours is not one who has already accepted it.

Who are our investors?

Think of a profession and we probably have someone from there who has been attracted to invest in us, IFA's, Solicitors, Accountants, Farmers, Business Owners, etc etc. We will discuss the security offered to you as an investor, as well as the risks, as nothing is risk free. We do not give financial advice, we are not IFAs, but we can put anyone who is considering investing with us in contact with an IFA, for independent financial advice, which includes advice relating to SIPPS and Pensions. There is an open invitation for anyone wanting to discuss the possibility of investing - you are welcome to visit our representative offices in Cambridge, or we will travel to you. Also anyone is welcome to visit our farming operation and see the land for himself or herself.

Who will represent your interest if you invest with us?

There is an independent UK company managing the administration of the investment funds on your behalf throughout the investment term. They are also able to confirm our financial background and experience of previous investors with us. The same independent company has visited our farming operation, and have seen the land.

Why invest in Farmland?

Below are a few facts, quotes and pieces of information that support why farmland is a good investment. The web link takes you to the articles so you can see the source of the information. The common theme is the population of the world is expanding, and the amount of farmland we have available to grow food which feeds the expanding population is decreasing. We do not take loans or funding from banks, We do not rely on bank funding; FWE SA already own the land, so there are no banks to "pull the plug". We do not rely on the stock market, or the housing market, it works on the simple need for food. Governments are buying arable land, large institutions are buying arable land, farmers are buying more arable land.

"Farmland: the asset that's better than gold" was sent by Money Week via their Money Morning email on October 2nd 2009.

"The farmer outpaced the gold owner. Expanding land values rode up 115% since 1983, versus gold at 81%."
- "If you're worried about the dollar, the economy, or any other problem, buy farmland today"
- "In fact, some call farmland as good as gold with yield - because you clock in steady income from rents while you wait for the value to grow. I can think of no better asset to own during any kind of financial crisis"
- "You can be sure institutional investors are already placing their long-term bets. Almost half the farmland bought there last year was snapped up by banks and funds."

"Cash in on the rush to secure quality farmland", was also in Money Week.

- Fertile soil - good dirt - may become more important to land values than oil or minerals in the ground. Some say it is already a strategic asset on par with oil. As Lennart Bage, president of a UN fund for agricultural development says, "Now fertile land with access to water has become a strategic asset."
- The mainstream press focuses on issues such as population, dietary shifts, and the impact of biofuels. One thing that doesn't get talked about much may be the most important thing of all: a growing shortage of quality topsoil. Call it the topsoil crisis...
- In the 1980s, the amount of land under cultivation began to fall for the first time since humble early humanity began to farm the rich land around the Tigris and Euphrates. It continues to fall today.

"Abu Dhabi develops food farms in Sudan" was in The Guardian.

- Abu Dhabi is to develop nearly 30,000 hectares of farmland in Sudan in the first step towards ensuring food security in the emirate.
- Pakistan's government is reported to have offered the Saudis hundreds of thousands of hectares in return for £3bn in oil and financial aid.
- Private companies are being encouraged to buy agricultural land abroad.