Mozambique: China's Farming Ambitions Take Shape

• SciDev.net
• 11 November 2009

UAE firm to lease farmland in Iraq - official

• Reuters
• 11 November 2009

"Agriculture companies from Germany and the United States have also shown interest in developing a project in Iraq, but nothing is final yet," said Sami R Al Araji, the chairman of Iraq's National Investment Commission

Cargill warns on self-sufficiency

• Financial Times
• 10 November 2009

Paul Conway, senior vice-president at Cargill, calls food self-sufficiency "a nonsense" and warns that overseas food production through land grabs will likely run into export bans by host countries

Ethiopia leases land for agriculture to earn foreign exchange

• Bloomberg
• 10 November 2009

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.

Argentine rains to boost Cresud, soybean harvests

• Bloomberg
• 09 November 2009

Buenos Aires-based Cresud plans to acquire more land to add to the 484,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) it owns and the 90,410 hectares it leases in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia

Eni's new energy projects threaten Congo Rainforest

• BankTrack
• 09 November 2009

ENI plans to develop 70,000 ha of palm oil in Congo

China's latest Africa foray: altruism or hegemony?

• IPS
• 09 November 2009

Earlier this year, delegates to the annual session of China’s parliament debated a proposal to seek employment for up to 100 million Chinese in various African countries to solve two of China’s greatest challenges—food security and unemployment.

Farmers sample what Libya offers

• Business Day
• 09 November 2009

De Jager is worried about Libya’s record in enforcing contracts with foreign companies, and the lack of social support networks. “There’s a lot of money to be made for someone with balls,” he says.

Tea farmers struggle for survival in fields of gold

• The Observer
• 08 November 2009

Commodity experts such as Goldman Sachs's Currie believe that land-grabbing is a good thing. He argues it will lead to more investment in agriculture. But others worry that the phenomenon will see farmers thrown off their land as more powerful forces move in.

Saudi to phase out water intensive crops

• Al Arabiya
• 07 November 2009

Saudi Arabia plans to phase out production of water intensive crops such as wheat, soybeans and animal fodder. "It would be best to grow these kinds of crops outside Saudi Arabia," says the kingdom's water and electricity minister.

Sime Darby unit eyes more estates in Africa

• Business Times
• 07 November 2009

Sime Darby Bhd, which owns 220,000ha of oil palm estates in Liberia, plans to strengthen its presence on the African continent and is eyeing more land in Cameroon, Congo and South Africa. The expansion is part of a long-term strategy to double planted areas to one million hectares and be nearer to the growing markets of Europe and the US.

Answering the food security colonial conundrum?

• The Gulf Blog
• 07 November 2009

One must ask if arrangements such as those promoted by Hassad Foods of Qatar are really that much better.