UAE

“We plan to have invested $1bn in farms within five years,” says Petrus du Toit of Ridge Solutions, which is acquiring farmland in Angola with backing from foreign investors.

Joint venture with the India/UAE Allana Group acquires 20,000 head of cattle owned by Felda and gains access to over 850,000 hectares of oil palm land.

Abu Dhabi is preparing to launch a large-scale agricultural project in Sudan to develop more than 70,000 acres of land as part of the oil-rich Gulf emirate's efforts to secure food supplies.

Between 2007 and mid-2008, Gulf states and their government-backed businesses spent US$15 billion (Dh55bn) in sub-Saharan Africa alone, much of it in the drive for food security

"As more investors look into the opportunities that developed nations present there will be no need to go underground or be ashamed of these deals," said Hakan Agro's Tomar.

Farmland, whose $5,000bn value equates to about 7-10% of the value of world equity markets, could be worth 15-25% of share values by 2020, Hardman & Co analysts say

Government of Namibia has leased land to Namibia Development Corporation and the Abu Dhabi-based Al Dhahra Agricultural Company to produce farm grapes and dates on a large commercial scale

NCB Capital estimates that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the main buyers of African land, have acquired some 6 million acres worldwide, largely in Sudan, Pakistan and Indonesia. Other estimates are much higher.

The UAE has embarked on an overseas investment spree to ensure domestic food security in a country with miniscule arable area -- a spree that will only grow

Gulf nations hope science will turn desert areas into arable land to boost food security and avoid the risks inherent in buying farmland abroad.

The UAE will set up a strategic food stock as part of a food security strategy that includes aquiring farmland in African and Asian countries

Southern NZ farmers will want to see cash before agreeing to sell their farms to a foreign company again, having been burnt once by a deal that turned sour.