Studies suggest that a third of the land sold or acquired in Africa is intended for fuel crops - some 5 million hectares. Friends of the Earth has looked at cases of land grabbing in 11 countries across Africa, from Ethiopia to Mozambique
Hassad Food, owned by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, plans to acquire a sugar project in Brazil with a capacity to produce 25 million tonnes per annum, 70% of which will be shipped to Qatar.
The Qatari company is about to bring home the first shipment of its own wheat produced overseas, and to start producing its own sugar in Brazil
Black Earth Farming a Swedish firm which controls more than 300,000 hectares of Russian farmland, has reported yields of some crops down by more than a half thanks to Russia's "scorching" heat
UNCTAD believes pension funds, with their apparent focus on reputation, accountability, and the long term, could set new best-practice standards as they join the farmland investment trend.
5,5 millions d'hectares seraient passés aux mains d'intérêts étrangers. Une loi voulue par le président Lula devrait mettre un sacré coup de frein à ces acquisitions.
A lei que regulamenta a compra de terras por estrangeiros no Brasil - da qual o governo agora lança mão para ampliar o controle sobre o mercado imobiliário rural - é objeto de dois projetos em tramitação no Senado.
Os dados apresentados na discussão sobre o limite para compra de terras por estrangeiros demonstra que está em curso uma contra Reforma Agrária no Brasil, praticada pelo capital, que concentra cada vez mais as nossas terras
Agreement covers 82,500 acres of land for palm oil production.
Gambela’s new tag as a land grabbing hub comes as BHO Agro Plc becomes the third Indian firm to begin operations in the region after two other Indian companies, Karuturi and Ruchi Group, moved into Gambela in 2008 and early 2010, respectively.
As large-scale investors' interest in acquiring vast swathes of land for commercial agriculture in Africa intensifies, farmers believe the time is ripe for the government to press investors to allocate shares to villagers as a corporate social responsibility.
Seules des initiatives nationales, telles que celle du Brésil, pourront freiner l’appétit pour la terre des pays développés.