Interview with Phatisa CIO

The payment forms part of the annual payments under the agreement between the lessee and the government of Sierra Leone

This brings the total number of Cambodian banana plantations approved to export to China up to nine, representing a total planting area of around 10,000 hectares.

Consistent interest from Saudi Arabia in direct investment in foreign agriculture, such as SALIC's recent purchase of 200,000 ha in Western Australia, will continue.

Cross Pacific Investments, which is backed by the Buratovich family of Argentina, has now spent more than $43 million on top end Australian land in the last few months, totalling just over 540,000 hectares.

Kilombero Plantations Limited in Tanzania joins a long list of failed big agriculture projects in Africa in recent years, including Agrisol and Sun Biofuels in Tanzania; Karuturi in Kenya and Ethiopia; Nile Trading in South Sudan; Senhuile in Senegal, and Bukanga Lonzo in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The proposed legislation would bar both foreigners and locals from buying any land in all districts bordering China and in a 25 kilometer-wide strip adjacent to Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

The European Union spends $65 billion a year subsidizing agriculture. But a chunk of that money emboldens strongmen, enriches politicians and finances corrupt dealing and land grabs.

In recent weeks, Indonesia has seen its largest mass protests since the “people power” movement that forced President Suharto to step down in 1998. Among a variety of pro-democracy demands, the protesters want lawmakers to scrap a controversial bill governing land use in the country.Critics say the bill could be used to imprison indigenous and other rural citizens for defending their lands against incursions by private companies.

Chinese companies first appeared in Russia's Far East in the early 2000s, but Beijing's interest in the region increased after the global financial crisis of 2008. Chinese investment was followed by an influx of Chinese migrants.

Nearly 88 percent of Gabon is covered in forests, but NGOs fear that the development of oil palm plantations threatens this viable resource. Local communities accuse SOTRADER, a public-private partnership between the government and the multinational Olam, of land grabbing.

One year after palm oil company Golden-Agri Resources (GAR) and its subsidiary Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) were called out for illegal deforestation, land grabbing, and the destruction of critical wildlife habitats, and many ongoing abuses later things on the ground don’t look much better.