Bahrain-based Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB) has been signed up to supervise the shari’a compliance process of UK-based SCS Farmland’s investment programme.

The shari’a advisory firm will work with the company to structure its agricultural farmland in light of Islamic guidelines and develop a shari’a compliant investment in farmland, the bureau said in a statement.

Yasser Dahlawi, CEO at SRB, said: “Given that the countries around the world still face a fundamental dilemma in food security we hope that SCS Farmland’s agricultural deal will play a key role in capturing bigger agricultural opportunities using Islamic financial modalities thereby pushing global food production to the next stage of development.”

Such farm land investments, he stated are probably the next big thing for leading Islamic financial institutions looking for commercially viable and new high-potential products.

"We believe that Islamic markets can learn from this experience and design agricultural land investments concentrated within their own localities thereby creating sustainable economic growth,” stated Dahlawi.

Stefan Raywood, project manager at SCS, said that in the last decade agriculture had become an increasingly prominent asset class in the financial world due to its stability, lack of correlation with other asset classes, and anti-inflationary tendencies.

“Given the rapid development of shari’a compliant products worldwide leaves no doubt that many prospects for exciting growth exist in all sectors of the economy,” he remarked.

“Farming is a detailed day to day business and to further operate it in light of shari’a modalities requires a strong scholarly operator with unlimited support and global accreditation," stated Raywood.

"And given SRB’s international footprint in the world of Islamic businesses we believe they will be a perfect match for us to attain and manage Shari’a compliance,” he added. - TradeArabia News Service