Kazakhstan

Against a backdrop of rising world wheat prices, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has chosen Kazakhstan as the destination for its first ever equity investment in farming.

The EBRD makes a US$45 million equity investment in KazExportAstyk, which controls 1m hectares of agricultural land in Kazakhstan – an area about the size of Denmark.

Russia’s VTB Capital plans $1bn agriculture fund which will begin by buying assets in Russia and Kazakhstan – from land to processing companies.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Agriculture calls Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine “probable countries of investment” in farmland and confirms Kingdom's continued interest in farmland in south Sudan.

Opposition activists in Kazakhstan called on the government on Saturday to stop Chinese investment in the country's natural resources, saying Beijing could be preparing a land grab in Central Asia

According to the legislation, Kazakhstan has the right to lease land to foreigners for a period of 10 years says Vice Minister of Agriculture Saktash Khassenov

Glencore has an 8.7% share of the "addressable" global grain trade and farming operations covering 270,000ha in Argentina, Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia and the Ukraine.

A Kazakh opposition leader is urging President Nursultan Nazarbaev to confirm or deny a report about an alleged deal he made in Beijing to lease Kazakh farmland to China, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.

According to Rahat Aliev, on 21 February 2011 Kazakh President Nazarbayev signed an agreement with the Chinese government handing over one million hectares of fertile farmland on lease for 99 years

A new class of farmers is on the rise in Ukraine. Three articles about the situation with foreign investors taking control of the country's farmlands.

Saudi Arabian investors are looking to expand their agricultural investments in the United States to secure long-term food supply because of water shortages in the desert kingdom, Saudi officials said on Thursday.

"Despite a December 23, 2009, Interfax press report that President Nazarbayev instructed the prosecutors to punish those who disseminate information about the sale of land to foreigners, opposition leaders have continued to advocate against the transfer of land to China," reports the US Embassy in Astana