Saudi Arabia Dairy Company buys 1,790 Acres of Land in California

Here at the Coaching Blog- one of the world’s leading blogs on the subject of Leadership and Coaching we quite often post articles by leading authors and authorities- today we are delighted to post an article from Kerry Lear.
Saudi Arabia’s Almarai Co has officially purchased even more farmland in the Southwest of the US. For 32 million, The Saudi food giant acquired the agricultural town of Blithe, California. The company cited alfalfa hay as the reason for securing the land.
This is just the next step in the plan by Almarai to phase out the growing of crops and fodder on Saudi Arabia’s home soil. The country is no longer having as much success considering their scarce water resources in their desert environment. So that means, it’s time for them to exploit America’s land and water.
The company defended the purchase by saying the deal “forms part of Almarai’s continuous efforts to improve and secure its supply of the highest quality alfalfa hay from outside the (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) to support its dairy business. It is also in line with the Saudi government direction toward conserving local resources.” Why should the country dry up their own water reserves when they can venture abroad and do so? Even when California is currently experiencing its own a drought.
Although its alarming that the country is buying up valuable farmland in the Southwest region of the US and will continue to do until there are laws in place not allowing large land purchases by foreign countries, it’s even more disconcerting how desperate Saudi Arabia is for resources.
But, on a more positive note, a purchase like this preserves US farmlands, while establishing more of an export market in the country. But, do these pros really out-way the cons?