Nigeria

Olam Nigeria Limited, a Singapore based agric investor has commenced work on a $90 million rice farm investment projec covering 10,000 hectares of irrigated farmland in Ondorie area of Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, speaking at the signing of an agreement between the Federal government, Tabara and Dominion Farms of the US, has challenged African leaders to find a lasting solution to food shortages in Africa

A few hours after it was announced with fanfare, the N70 billion agriculture deal between Nigeria's Kwara State government and a Spanish consortium is generating controversy.

Kwara State Governor Ahmed has signed and MOU with Vasolar Consortium of Spain for the cultivation, processing and packaging of rice, with the state providing 20,000 ha of land.

Its joint venture with Singapore's Wilmar will invest 100 billion naira in Nigeria over the next 5-7 years to develop oil palm plantations that will feed the refinery.

Global agricultural company Olam says the cultivation and processing of rice in Nigeria has the potential to be a lucrative industry.

The 6,000 hectare farm in Nasarawa, one of Nigeria's main rice growing belts, is expected to yield 36,000 tonnes of milled rice annually at its peak.

Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Syncop Corporation of Korean for a $400 million investment deal in food production and other areas of agriculture.

Millions of hectares of farmland are being sold or leased to foreigners to the detriment of farmers

State governments across the country are seeking the review of the Land Use Act as part of measures to facilitate easy access to land, especially to encourage foreign direct investment.

Speaking to US audience about investment opportunities in agriculture, Benue State Governor says 364,000 hectares of land are available for irrigation farming.

The people living on the lands now being targeted by US-owned Dominion Farms can learn a lot from the film Good Fortune, which provides a behind-the-scenes account of the struggle of a local community in Kenya to defend their lands from this company.