What is the OECD’s view of rich food-importing countries buying land in developing countries to secure their own food requirements?

The Philippines and Bahrain have begun discussions on a possible agribusiness project in Mindanao covering an initial area of 10,000 hectares that is expected to create some 20,000 jobs, officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday.

Land grabbing and food speculation are not just overseas phenomena; they are also happening in North America.

The Philippine government yesterday proposed investment opportunities in the agriculture sector for Saudi Arabians to ensure the supply of agriculture commodities and develop idle government lands.

Russian grain processing firm PAVA plans a farmland investment road show across the Gulf region over the next two months and is open to selling shares to Middle East investors as it aims to triple the land under its control.

The European Union is coercing some West African governments into allowing European-based fishing companies to deplete West Africa’s fishing stocks in a new "food colonialism" that is now taking place between rich and poor countries around the world, according to British author George Monbiot.

For the far-sighted investor, especially one spending dollars, an agricultural downturn could be the time to consider buying farmland.

PAVA together with its agricultural subsidiary explores the investment potential of Russian lands amid the world booming demand on agricultural resources

Any student of history will tell you that a recurring feature of 20th century revolutions and civil wars was conflict over land ownership, driven by the resentment of the rural poor against the concentration of agricultural wealth in the hands of the elite.

There have been numerous press stories about food importing countries planning to buy land abroad to secure their food supplies. While that is perhaps a natural reaction to the shockingly high prices that basic food commodities reached briefly early last year, it will not work.

Export bans during last year's food crisis hurt global confidence in trade and helped push investors to buy up farmland in developing nations, an official from the United Nations' food agency said on Tuesday.

When the new Land Reform Minister rummaged through his office in Madagascar's capital, he was shocked to discover the documents for a $2-billion deal to lease huge tracts of farmland to an Indian entrepreneur.