Besides energy and minerals, which make up the lion's share of African exports to the BRICs countries, there is growing interest in its arable land - less than 25 percent of which is cultivated - as a source of food for export.

Sur les terres agricoles cédées à la compagnie Daewoo, l’ex-président de Madagascar dit : « Ce sont de fausses informations. Un accord avec la compagnie Daewoo nécessite la ratification du parlement. Nous étions encore en phase de négociations. C’est pourquoi, dès qu’il y a eu ces problèmes, Daewoo s’est déployé en République démocratique du Congo où elle a obtenu 4 millions d’ha. »

Les organisations paysannes maliennes et sénégalaises rendraient un fier service aux autres paysans africains s’ils pouvaient obtenir les termes des contrats et les publier.

"Qatar is in the process of formulating a national strategy for food security that we expect to shift from a focus on land ownership in developing countries to land leases and joint ventures with the private sector in developed countries," reports the US Embassy in Doha

Emirates International Investment Company is currently in negotiations with Algerian authorities for the purchase of land to build a large-scale milk farm, Mahassil.

"Si le gouvernement et les organisations paysannes sont capables de faire respecter leurs droits, il faut accueillir ces milliards d’investissements dans l’agriculture," estime le directeur de PAI Partners.

New code of conduct could limit aggressive moves by China, South Korea and Gulf states who have been buying vast tracts of agricultural land

The delegation hopes to conclude an agreement with the Libyan government that sets out commercial terms, including investment protection, tenure security and incentives.

These issues will be central to the World Summit on Food Security to be held from November 16 through 18 at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome.

Representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, Finance, and Transportation will participate in a forum on November 14-15 [2009] in Addis Ababa to officially mark the beginning of a cooperative project under which Ethiopia made one million hectares of land available for Saudi private companies to develop.

Goldman Sachs' welcoming outlook on landgrab deals will be scrutinised because banks were criticised by some for fuelling speculation in commodities last year.

CHOBE agrivision will become the largest agri-business in Zambia surpassing ZAMBEFF PLC according to owners Chayton Capital