At an agriculture investment summit in London on Wednesday, leading U.S. and European pensions funds said few assets remained immune from whipsawing markets, prompting institutions to look at farmland.

Issad Rebrab, PDG de la 3e firme agroindustrielle de l'Afrique, veut exploiter entre 300 et 400 mille hectares de terre en Côte d'Ivoire pour cultiver la canne à sucre, le riz, le palmier à l'huile et la pomme de terre.

« L'accaparement des terres par les fonds de pension et les institutions financières doit cesser », plaide un collectif d'organisations non gouvernementales, dont la Confédération paysanne, dans un appel lancé mardi.

Une coalition de plus de 60 ONGs actives sur les questions agricoles a publié une déclaration intitulée « L’usurpation de terres par des fonds de pension et d’autres institutions financières doit cesser. »

Investors interested in buying land in Africa, have denied accusations that they are involved in landgrabs, insisting their practice is the only way to feed growing populations.

Fred Pearce, author of the new book The Land Grabbers: The New Fight over Who Owns the Earth, reports on how food shortages and price spikes are leading speculators and agribusiness interests to buy up vast tracts of land around the globe.

Farmland is "an obvious no-brainer choice for most pension funds," according to Savills director of residential research Yolande Barnes.

Llamamiento común de mas de 60 organizaciones de la sociedad civil

Déclaration commune de plus de 60 organisations de la société civile

Laos will not allow any new investments in mining or grant further land concessions for rubber plantations until 2015 at the earliest, due to concerns about land encroachment and the environment

Joint statement released by more than 60 civil society organisations against the role of pension funds and other financial instutions in land grabbing

Not everyone is thrilled about the new breed of investors making a pure financial play on farmland in the US