Human "greed" to the rescue

From today's Financial Times:

Yara International, the Norwegian fertiliser maker, soared 11.2 per cent to NKr387.50 after posting a bigger-than-expected jump in first-quarter operating profit and forecasting further gains as production runs at capacity in a tight global market.

Makers of fertiliser have been boosted by strong demand from farmers trying to increase their crop yields in the face of rising global demand for food.

K&S, the German potash fertiliser maker, rose 5.1 per cent to €253.39, while Swiss agrochemicals group Syngenta climbed 2.5 per cent to SFr324.

Higher food prices signal food scarcity and capital - that is, effort - flows towards producing more food.