Besides energy and minerals, which make up the lion's share of African exports to the BRICs countries, there is growing interest in its arable land - less than 25 percent of which is cultivated - as a source of food for export.

"Qatar is in the process of formulating a national strategy for food security that we expect to shift from a focus on land ownership in developing countries to land leases and joint ventures with the private sector in developed countries," reports the US Embassy in Doha

Emirates International Investment Company is currently in negotiations with Algerian authorities for the purchase of land to build a large-scale milk farm, Mahassil.

New code of conduct could limit aggressive moves by China, South Korea and Gulf states who have been buying vast tracts of agricultural land

The delegation hopes to conclude an agreement with the Libyan government that sets out commercial terms, including investment protection, tenure security and incentives.

These issues will be central to the World Summit on Food Security to be held from November 16 through 18 at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome.

Representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, Finance, and Transportation will participate in a forum on November 14-15 [2009] in Addis Ababa to officially mark the beginning of a cooperative project under which Ethiopia made one million hectares of land available for Saudi private companies to develop.

Goldman Sachs' welcoming outlook on landgrab deals will be scrutinised because banks were criticised by some for fuelling speculation in commodities last year.

CHOBE agrivision will become the largest agri-business in Zambia surpassing ZAMBEFF PLC according to owners Chayton Capital

A draft of the first-ever international code of conduct for farmland deals should be ready by the end of the year, the head of the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development said.

While food security may be the aim of land acquisitions for many Gulf investors, KCIC sees Asian agribusiness purely from a commercial standpoint.

The FAO's response to the acquisition of land by foreign entities will be a separate process from the development of voluntary guidelines on land tenure, but will also address issues of governance and the need for effective and fair institutions.