China

Politicians and economists say that the Australian public is only worked up about foreign ownership of agricultural land because the community is misinformed. This drives the belief that a register of foreign land holdings will calm everyone's anxiety. Given that Queensland has had such a register for 20 years, and that disquiet about foreign ownership still resonates among Queenslanders, this means that something else is at play.

Leading Australian economists, commentators and even political enemies have joined the federal Minister for Trade and Investment Craig Emerson in condemning Opposition plans to tighten control over foreign investment.

Jessica Mutch spoke to Fred Pearce in London about the Crafar farm buy-up by a Chinese company and whether New Zealand should be nervous about land grabbing.

Australia's conservative opposition on Friday earmarked tighter scrutiny of foreign investment in agriculture as a priority if the party is elected to government next year, as recent polls suggest.

A Chinese property conglomerate is bidding for a 15,000 hectare farming project in the Australian outback as Canberra looks to open the remote north for farming to tap booming demand for food from Asia, especially China.

Outspoken entrepreneur and aviator Dick Smith has bought $1 million worth of shares in Australian Agricultural Co (AAco) - Australia's second-largest landholder - because he doesn't want to sound hypocritical when he campaigns against foreign ownership of farms.

An EU scheme to boost trade with developing nations is fueling land grabs in Cambodia, activists say, with thousands evicted from their property to make way for a booming sugar industry.

Après deux ans de pourparlers avec Tate and Lyle Sugars, qui importe le sucre cambodgien en Europe, les communautés appellent au boycott du sucre de la marque la plus ancienne au monde.

Otro que estaría en busca de inversiones es el gobernador rionegrino Alberto Weretilneck. Concretamente, estaría evaluando retomar el proyecto de desarrollar el cultivo de soja en 200.000 hectáreas de la provincia.

Chongqing Grain Group Co Ltd, one of China's largest State-owned grain companies, is in talks with Molino Canuelas SA, a major agribusiness group in Argentina, about joint investments totaling $10 million in a soybean farm and dairy farms in the South American country.

Tanzania is planning to involve the Chinese government in its agriculture revolution strategy as well as establish value-adding small industries to boost agricultural products by local producers

Only a fool would believe Australia's agricultural development could be funded without foreign investment from sovereign wealth funds, according to Trade Minister Craig Emerson.