"Our message is clear: it is not up to the G8 to set development strategies and programmes for Africa."

Nigeria allows foreigners -- like Thailand's Riceland International Co -- to lease land for growing rice and to run rice-related businesses including milling and processing.

Global food supply concerns have revived fears of foreigners seeking to do farming in Thailand. Some farmers worry they could end up being little more than serfs.

Almarai Company, Saudi Arabia's biggest listed dairy firm, is studying more acquisition opportunities in Egypt after spending $115 million last month to buy an Egyptian company and its farmland

Rather than participating in the race for farmland overseas, Japan should concentrate on raising its food self-sufficiency rate, which is now at about 40 percent.

Private Saudi firm Planet Food World (PFWC) will invest around $3 billion in agriculture in Turkey over the next five years to export food products to the Gulf region, the head of its Turkish unit said.

A state-affiliated Kuwaiti company is set to join a growing list of entities from the oil-rich Gulf looking at investments in Asian agricultural land.

Most of the recent farmland sales in Uruguy can be traced to money looking for safe havens, given the world financial crisis, and not necessarily increasing production.

Tokyo is now preparing to expand Official development assistance to support agricultural technology innovations and improve social infrastructure in such areas, which in turn could help activate private agricultural investment

Abdulaye Wade says there is nothing wrong with leasing land: Saudi Arabia is already in Senegal and China is close to a deal with farmers' groups to use 100,000 ha for growing peanuts.

In Benin, the race to buy land is on! States, corporations, multinationals and investment funds are hungry for farmland.

Cambodia is experiencing what's been called an epidemic of land grabbing. Huge tracts of the country have been granted to private companies for large scale agriculture or other purposes.