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.

Glencore's agricultural interests include 300,000 hectares of land in Australia, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, Russia and Ukraine.

Agricultural funds made 9.5% last year, according to data provider BarclayHedge, while almost every other investment opportunity lost money.

A fund founded by former Canadian prime minister Paul Martin has put its money behind a venture aimed at becoming the country's largest farm, aiming to farm at least 50,000 acres within its first year.

Forecast reports on scarcity predict global actors will move in on dwindling resources. Governments are taking notice, and so should the public, Vivian Fritschi writes for ISN Security Watch.