Why would you put it in a container? Containers are very hard to transport, you can't just throw it on the back of an ox cart, or pack mules. You need specialized - and expensive - transportation, as well as a special crane to unload it.
Not to mention that you kill the local suppliers of agricultural equipment.
And the price tag? Agricultural land is VERY cheap. You can buy an acre of the most expensive prime Corn Belt land for under $6000 [Edit: in some states this number is actually around $10k], while in emerging markets good land can go for as low as as few hundred dollars per acre.
So a single container that can be used to farm two acres of land, could be used to buy 10 acres of the best land in the US, or 200 acres of land (or more) in emerging markets. Or you could hire 20 farm workers for 4 years in India.
It is clear that the target is well-intended governments, who will write big checks, and leave the units rotting in some depot somewhere as they figure out what to do with it, draining resources which could be used in actual development (roads, infrastructure, rural insurance & credit).
San Francisco & Silicon Valley, please go back to solving First World problems.
Not to diminish your larger point, but your figures for expensive farm land in the cornbelt appears outdated to me. Farmland in southern Indiana (corn/soybeans/wheat) is selling above $10k per acre, with some specific plots around $15k (though this is not strictly because of farming potential so much as location and natural resources). There have been some great increases in value the past few years.
Not to mention that you kill the local suppliers of agricultural equipment.
And the price tag? Agricultural land is VERY cheap. You can buy an acre of the most expensive prime Corn Belt land for under $6000 [Edit: in some states this number is actually around $10k], while in emerging markets good land can go for as low as as few hundred dollars per acre.
So a single container that can be used to farm two acres of land, could be used to buy 10 acres of the best land in the US, or 200 acres of land (or more) in emerging markets. Or you could hire 20 farm workers for 4 years in India.
It is clear that the target is well-intended governments, who will write big checks, and leave the units rotting in some depot somewhere as they figure out what to do with it, draining resources which could be used in actual development (roads, infrastructure, rural insurance & credit).
San Francisco & Silicon Valley, please go back to solving First World problems.