King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia told President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday that he is sending a high-level business mission to the Philippines in April to look for investment opportunities in the Philippine agriculture sector.

Vom Geschäftemachen versteht Madagaskars Präsident Marc Ravalomanana etwas. Schließlich hat sich der 59-Jährige vom radelnden Joghurt-Verkäufer zum Chef des Firmenimperiums Tiko empor gewirtschaftet. Das Geschäft mit Milch hat ihn zum reichsten Mann der Tropeninsel gemacht - schon bevor er 2002 in den Präsidentenpalast einzog.

AOAD Director-General Salim Allowzi said the private sector in the Arab World needs to step up investment in farming projects to cut the massive import bill, ensure enough farm products for the region and bolster food security.

First cargo of rice arrives in oil-rich kingdom amid mixed feelings over business ethics.

According to Nograles the vision of the political leaders of Mindanao is that if the 26,000 hectares of contiguous agricultural land can be developed in the joint venture partnership with the Saudi chamber of commerce, a lease agreement could gurantee 50 years of food security for the Kingdom.

While I am all for infrastructure projects, the way these large-scale agriculture projects are being conceived leaves a lot to be desired. One, they are shrouded in secrecy. Two, this being Kenya, it is not clear who will benefit most.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are worldwide leaders in buying farmland in third-party countries, followed by China and Japan, says the World Bank.

Wealthy countries short of fertile land are gazing hungrily at Canada's prairies

Never mind the food miles: when prices are soaring around the world some countries have found a way of keeping their own consumers happy - farming out their farms overseas. One of Asia’s poorest countries, Cambodia, is at the top of their wish list.

PT Daewoo Logistic Indonesia and Cheil Jedang Samsung will jointly build an integrated corn industry on the islands of Buru and Sumba with an investment of US$50 million.

"We are trying to promote Qatari investment in [Sri Lanka's] farm sector.”

Of all the places on this planet where you might think of investing, Sudan would surely not normally be at the top of anyone’s list. But that is not the view of Philippe Heilberg of Jarch Capital in New York, who told the BBC that his company was leasing 400,000 hectares in the relatively more stable south part of the country.