Kenya

After years of competing for overseas oil and mines, India and China are silently scouring the world for their next great need: farmland to grow food.

On the eastern coast of Kenya, controversy erupts over plans to turn a biodiversity hotspot into farmland for Qatar.

Some Gulf countries may now be realising the importance of offering direct loans to African countries as a means to increase Arab investment.

The Kenyan government is considering leasing a large tract of land in the Tana River Delta in eastern Kenya to Qatar's government. In return, Qatar would build a port in the seaside town of Lamu.

While I am all for infrastructure projects, the way these large-scale agriculture projects are being conceived leaves a lot to be desired. One, they are shrouded in secrecy. Two, this being Kenya, it is not clear who will benefit most.

The Lands ministry has denied any knowledge of an arrangement between Kenya and Qatar to lease 40,000 hectares of its prime farm land to the Arabian country to grow food while over 10 million households face starvation.

The government has defended its decision, saying that under the agreement, Qatar will help Kenya develop an equivalent number of hectares for its own food security.

As Kenya prepares to declare a national emergency in response to food shortages, the government's agricultural policies have come under growing scrutiny. A proposed deal to lease land to the government of Qatar for agricultural use has received particular attention.

Most of the produce from the proposed project, mainly vegetables and fruits, would be exported to the Gulf. Questions have been raised on why the Government has chosen to lease the land instead of engaging local farmers to boost food security in the country.

The reported land deal between Kenya and Qatar is not unique. The Philippines Department of Agrarian Reform said in 2007 it was looking at large tracts of land for agribusiness development under a MoU signed with China. The memo calls for the development of land to grow hybrid corn, rice and sorghum.

The area around Tana Delta which the government seeks to lease to the Qatari is of immense strategic value. It is fertile, has fresh water and, more importantly, is located in a region that has the highest potential oil and gas deposits in the country as well as other mineral deposits.

Such blockbuster deals neglect to take into consideration the true interests of the farmers