As other countries have pushed their industrial bases thousands of miles offshore in search of resources and labor, China is doing the same thing with agriculture, expanding as far away as Africa in its effort to feed its people.

Ahmed Al Sadhan, General Manager of the National Office for Industrial Strategies, at the Ministry of Commerce, stressed a desire to maintain a low profile on the feasibility study, for fear that target countries might inflate the cost of farm-land in anticipation of investment.

South Korean-based PT Agro Enerpia Indonesia will invest US$2 billion in maize plantations in the Buol district of Central Sulawesi, a regional government spokesman said.

Gulf banks and businessmen were yesterday urged to invest less money in the real estate sector and turn to food industries.

Pakistan has reportedly offered Saudi Arabia a large amount of acres of agricultural land in return for oil. Egypt is also said to have offered both Saudi Arabia and the UAE the opportunity to purchase farmland. Even Bahrain, the smallest economy in the GCC, has started exploring buying farmland in southeast Asian nations, notably Thailand and the Philippines.

Dr Kayan Jaff, the FAO’s regional chief, has warned that only a multi-billion dollar investment in agriculture will curb soaring supermarket prices — urging governments to buy up farmland in regions like the Horn of Africa and Asia.

What’s with farming these days? The humble, even if slightly romantic vocation, is attracting a new breed of participants as investing in farmland and agriculture becomes the latest fad in the world of investments.

Companies listed on European exchanges have been acquiring large amounts of farmland in Russia

Land-locked Ethiopia has given Djiboutian President Omar Ismail Guelleh large tracts of land for wheat farming and a lakeside holiday home, officials said on Tuesday.

As part of Doha’s efforts to ensure food security, Qatar and Sudan yesterday agreed to establish a joint holding company, which is expected to focus on agricultural investment, food industry and animal husbandry.

The UAE is exploring opportunities in the Philippines to ensure the availability of certain food stocks in the country, an official said.

Les compagnies étrangères cotées dans les bourses européennes achètent activement des terres agricoles en Russie

Global food shortages have placed the Middle East and North Africa in a quandary, as they are forced to choose between growing more crops to feed an expanding population or preserving their already scant supply of water.

Chinese and Mozambican governments want to make the Zambezi Valley region of Mozambique a centre for rice production for the Chinese market, which is faced with increased consumption and less and less arable land, says researcher Loro Horta, a specialist in relations between China and Portuguese-speaking African countries.

Sources say that UAE businessmen are considering buying large land holdings and importing food items from Pakistan at 20-25 percent less cost.