Emerging Markets

Russia and China are creating a $10bn Russian-Chinese Far East Agribusiness Development Fund to invest in agribusiness.

The Indian dairy products company, which is owned by PE firms and development finance institutions, has extended its IPO and cut the price of its shares after struggling to attract investors.

Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and its asset management unit Lion Global Investors have closed a S$550m private equity fund to invest in agriculture and commodity companies across Asia.

Agribusiness and natural resources are among the sectors for which 67 Africa-focused funds are currently raising capital, according to PEI data.

MLSCF II is aiming at November this year for final close, with its target set at $200m to $250m.

China's agriculture industry has been challenged by a lack of economies of scale, low-tech farming techniques and broken value chains - but an even more fundamental issue is on the horizon.

Funding will be used to build an irrigation dam in Mumbwa District in Zambia.

The funding will be used to boost family farms' agricultural production and allow them to diversify in the Maradi, Tahoua and Zinder regions.

Investing in family farmers and smallholders is the key to the "inclusive growth" which will drive the world's population out of hunger, says the FAO.