Karuturi Global Ltd

Programme aired on NHK World presenting a documentary by Kohei Tsuji filmed in Ethiopia and Tanzania - in Japanese only - 35 minutes

Until last year, people in the Ethiopian settlement of Elliah earned a living by farming their land and fishing. Now, they are employees.

"This apparent rush to lease so much farmland, much or all of it to foreign interests, during a time of worsening food insecurity should raise concern within the donor community about GoE motivations and negotiating capacity," writes the US embassy in Addis Ababa in December 2009

Al-Amoudi's recently established Saudi Star Agricultural Development Plc requested, two weeks ago, an additional 250,000 ha of land in Ethiopia for sugar beet production.

Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, managing director of Karuturi Global Ltd was conferred with the award for business excellence in agribusiness in Africa by Corporate Council on Africa, for the year 2009.

Lured by a new business model, wealthy nations flock to farmland in Ethiopia, locking in food supplies grown half a world away

Many small Ethopian farmers do not share their leaders' enthusiasm for leasing off farmland to foreign investors

The Ethiopian government says concerns about foreign investors exporting food are outweighed by the plantations’ capacity to bring the country foreign exchange and technology, as well as creating employment.

The UPA Government has deprived job opportunities to millions of illiterate and semi-literate Indians by forcing Indian companies to invest abroad in overseas plantations and coal mining sectors.

He owns land eight times the size of Mumbai, most of it in distant Ethiopia. His company, Karuturi Global, figures among the top 25 agri transnational corporations. But he wants more -- to break into the top 10 and rub shoulders with the likes of ConAgro and Cargill.

Ramakrishna Karuturi does not feature on any international power list. Perhaps he should.

In June 2009, the Indian company Karuturi took up intensive farming in Ethiopia. The harvest will be exported to Asia and Europe.