The United Kingdom is one of a few larger economies without a national wealth fund. This paper investigates the feasibility of a recent proposal to turn The Crown Estate, one of Britain’s largest property investment and management businesses, into such a Sovereign wealth fund as an alternative to its privatisation. The Crown Estate was created in 1760 by Parliament as a means of funding the British monarchy, but when the current Queen dies or abdicates there is likely to be a wide ranging debate about the type of monarchy Britain wants and how it is financed. However, with assets of just under US$12 billion The Crown Estate would be small in relation to other national funds. At present, with an estimated six trillion dollars, the global funds under Sovereign wealth management have been steadily increasing their significance in global investment. The largest single fund is the Norwegian Government Pension Fund with assets of circa US$803.9 billion, while greater China controls US$1.63 trillion through four separate funds. The authors argue that any British fund, even if formed out of The Crown Estate, should have access to the revenues from shale oil and gas which could be worth as much as £500 to £800 of GDP per head at 2012 prices.

The World Bank’s Food Price Watch reached a new historic peak in August 2012. High and volatile food prices spell real hardship for the world’s poor, and supply problems due to volatile climatic conditions have exacerbated the surge in global food prices. Investment in agriculture is handicapped by the lack of reliable, accurate data. In many developing countries, the methods of collecting agricultural statistics have hardly advanced in 50 years. This article analyses these flaws and omissions and reviews initiatives to resolve current shortcomings. Plantation agriculture offers one of the most effective means of producing sufficient food to meet global demand. The scope for enhancing production is considerable, particularly in certain countries such as Nigeria which are faced with a substantial food import bill. This article reviews a dozen key staple commodities and explores the opportunities to expand output with a particular reference to Sub-Saharan Africa. Recent research reveals the opportunities to improve production through planting more appropriate seeds and the use of fertiliser. Any step change in production hinges on the adoption of larger scale commercial production, for which private capital will be required. In the case of palm oil, the last few years has seen significant investment in Africa by global agri-business groups keen to complement production from the two major exporting countries: Malaysia and Indonesia. The potential for large scale agriculture has never been so bright as it is today in Africa.

The authors examine the potential to promote palm oil production in the tropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Given world population pressures and soaring food prices, the need to grow more food has never been more urgent. Palm oil cultivation offers one possible route to meet this demand; it also has a variety of other uses, notably biofuel. Major investors are committing substantial sums to develop palm oil plantations throughout West Africa. However, this major driver of economic growth has triggered controversy, particularly from environmental NGOs. The article assesses how far these criticisms are valid. In the process, four key challenges surrounding the development of plantation crops are identified. The REDD initiative – aimed at restricting forest land conversion for commercial purposes – is analysed and a number of practical hurdles to successful implementation are highlighted. The authors conclude that large-scale commercial plantation agriculture clearly has a major contribution to make in resolving the rapidly emerging global food crisis.