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

A delegation of 26 Egyptian agriculture companies led by Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza, is now inspecting land proposed by the Ethiopian government for Egyptian investment projects.

Citadel Capital will deploy significant capital across East Africa in 2010 in sectors spanning from agriculture to consumer foods.

On December 22, Ukraine's parliament adopted a surprisingly unanimous decision to extend the moratorium on the sale of agricultural lands until 2012. Now the ball in the president’s court – he has always considered land to be a commodity.

As food aid stamped with the World Food Programme's logo is shipped to Sudan, thousands of tons of wheat and rice are shipped out.

Mr Massimov said Kazakhstan was negotiating an agreement with China to fund farming projects in Kazakhstan. “We are not giving China any land. The land code forbids it. But if we have a buyer [for crops], be it China or Arabia, then let’s sell,” he said.

A veteran American hedge-fund manager has launched a $100m fund to invest in American farmland as fears of food inflation grow.

Qatar is one of the leading investors in the agricultural sector in Sudan, says a former minister of irrigation of Egypt.

Some compare it to a hold up on land; others say it is a development booster. Experts, politicians and Non governmental organizations disagree on their analysis of what is called “land-grabbing”-or the acquisition of farm lands- a practice on the increase.

A long term land lease (25 000 ha) for cotton farming in Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz regions for a period of 50 years (renewable)

Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri said in remarks late on Tuesday that the UAE's food security strategy, which includes overseas agricultural investments, would be put before the federal cabinet for consideration.

Militant farmers belonging to the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) are completely disgusted by the failure of government to stop land and crop conversions.