Alfred Quayjandi accuses both the Liberian government and Sime Darby of presenting a confused and angry population with a fait accompli, failing to consult local communities and bypassing or snubbing the local administration and traditional chiefs.

"Galaxy of diplomats" in attendance for the inauguration of Mr Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, Managing Director of Karuturi Global Ltd, as an Honorary Consul of Ethiopia in Bangalore.

The scariest aspect of this unfolding phenomenon is that despite the foreseeable terrible consequences, the appetite among the rich countries to own a piece of this developing-country fertile land continues to grow, turning to an ugly competition.

A controversial resettlement program in Ethiopia is the latest battleground in the global race to secure prized farmland and water. Correspondent Cassandra Herrman reports as part of the Food for 9 Billion series, a NewsHour partnership with the Center for Investigative Reporting, Homelands Productions and Marketplace.

Debates around farmland acquisition have focused mostly on how the phenomenon is playing out in the Global South. Much less attention has been paid to large-scale acquisitions of farmland in wealthier countries like Canada.

Trigon Agri unveiled plans to expand in Russia through the acquisition of a "large scale" farm operator - and to become Europe's top dairy producer - as it unveiled its first annual profit.

The 500,000-hectare station, located about 150 kilometres south-west of the Gulf of Carpentaria, is believed to have sold for about $33 million, and included about 28,000 head of mixed cattle in the contract.

Central North Island Maori are seeking to challenge Shanghai Pengxin's purchase of the Crafar farms using the same Treaty of Waitangi clause in legislation the Maori Party has fought to retain for partially privatised state-owned assets.

In Myanmar, the issue of land-grabbing has been raised by land rights groups urging changes to two land laws currently before parliament: the Farmland Bill and Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land Management Bill.

The government will soon table a Contract Farming Bill in parliament, seeking to enact a law to protect smallholder farmers and rural communities against exploitation by private investors that acquire lands.

Two MIDROC-affiliated companies, largely owned by the Saudi tycoon Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi, are Saudi Star Agricultural Plc and Horizon Plantations Plc. Both offered tens of millions of Birr to acquire state-owned plantations last week.

Al-Amoudi’s Saudi Star Agricultural Development Plc, which is primarily growing rice to export to Saudi Arabia, has leased 10,000 hectares in Gambella region and is in the “process of leasing an additional 290,000 hectares”.