Zambia

These arrangements are reminiscent of “banana republics” when many African countries served as plantations for European countries -- but even those did not come with such explicit restrictions and rigidities.

Most Chinese investment in African agriculture is concentrated in southern Africa: Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi and, increasingly, Angola.

Las adquisiciones de tierra en África, Asia y Latinoamérica, tal y como se hacen en la actualidad, suponen condenar a los más pobres a ser desalojados de sus fincas o a perder acceso a la tierra, al agua y a otros recursos, según el primer estudio sobre la nueva tendencia de grandes corporaciones y gobiernos de invertir en tierras en países pobres, encargado por las agencias de las Naciones Unidas de la Agricultura y Alimentación y del Desarrollo (FAO y UNDP).

CNN's John Defterios takes a look at how Middle Eastern countries are scouring the globe for farmland.

The Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation is planning to set up model farms in Uganda. So far, one site of 200 hectares suitable for wheat growing has already been identified at Labora, Koro sub-county in Gulu district.

Private equity used to stay away from anything to do with agriculture, put off by the uncontrollable risks of bad climate and natural disasters. And yet in the last three years some big funds have been launched in the agribusiness space, and they are busy trying different ways of mitigating the risks.

The deal would be the biggest lease of land in the country, which faces food shortages following severe flooding and drought during last year’s growing season.

Soaring food prices, supply fears among import-dependent countries and rising demand for biofuels have driven up investment in agricultural land, notably in Africa.

"Jilin and other corporate entities in China are taking major steps to increase the amount of China-controlled soy plantation both in China and around the world," reports the US Consulate in Shenyang

Chinese investment in Africa is expanding beyond a race to secure minerals and energy sources to put an increasing focus on agriculture, the chief executive of Standard Chartered Bank said on Wednesday.

With their huge populations, China and India exert an unparalleled force on world food markets. They are looking abroad as it becomes more difficult for them to be self-sufficient -- and the increasing demand often has disastrous consequences across the globe.

In other African countries, including Ghana, South Africa and Togo, the China State Farm and Agribusiness Corporation (CSFAC) has founded 11 agricultural production, processing and sales projects, and runs a total of 16,000 hectares of farmlands