Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyses the consequences of a number of interrelated emblematic events of the 2007–11 period. The first major component of this suite of emblematic events was the global credit crisis, which became evident in 2007. It is widely judged to be the worst crisis of capitalism since the 1930s. Second, there was a separate cluster of commodity price volatilities that affected international commodity markets – especially global energy prices. The 2008 global food price volatility was amplified by pressures in the minerals and fertilizer markets. The book shows that this coalition of interests that dominates global food supply chains is not playing a significant role in inward investment in African water and land resources. The active investors are first, sovereign wealth funds in oil-exporting states and some other major net food importers in the Middle East.