Since the land acquisition will be by private parties only, the chances of such purchase becoming a political issue are remote, officials feel.

"Local businessmen make deals with foreign investors and convince tribal authorities in the area to give them land, but the water from the river is not just for people to take," says Water Affairs Under Secretary A. Nehemia who had not been informed about the farm.

A German investment fund that bought a majority interest in a Southland dairy farm, Aquila Capital's AgrarInvest, also has shareholdings in three other Kiwi dairy companies.

Gulf nations hope science will turn desert areas into arable land to boost food security and avoid the risks inherent in buying farmland abroad.

Farms of foreign owners control more than 6 percent of the total Czech farmland area of 3.6 million hectares, weekly Euro says in its latest issue to be published on Monday, referring to data of the Czech Statistical Office

The process of buying up large swathes of farmland in foreign countries is politically sensitive, but "beggars can't be choosers" says a senior executive at a leading Middle Eastern food commodities trading firm

Demeter International got a 25-year lease for 10,000 ha of Bwabwata National Park, which it will start ploughing in October. Hundreds of families will lose access to the forest.

Groups issue sign-on letter calling on the World Bank to stop funding oil palm plantations.

Expanding the acreage of organically farmed land to 20% would increase the EU's virtual land importation by 30%. And policies to achieve the EU’s 10% biofuel objective would also increase the rate of EU land-grabs.

A group of Iranian businessmen is planning to invest up to $40 million in the construction of a livestock breeding complex and a feed plant in Russia's Chelyabinsk region by 2013

Rural people in several parts of Cameroon are protesting a government policy that allows the government to sell or lease vast parcels of arable land to foreign investors.

Foreign donors are promoting land registration in Papua New Guinea to facilitate a farmland grab, under the guise of agricultural development.