Policy Developments China Highlights Overseas Ag Investments at Belt and Road Forum The summit last week in Beijing touting China’s signature Belt and Road Initiative as well as its approach to building new international relationships also highlighted its overseas agricultural investment efforts. China’s Central TV, a channel featuring efforts of the central government and the Communist Party leadership, noted a total of 850 international agricultural-related projects in commodities (e.g., rice, corn, soybeans, rubber, palm oil, cotton and livestock). The reporting, which featured Ms. Ma Hongtao in her role as director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) Foreign Cooperation Office, noted that the ministry h...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.