The International Financial Corporation has actually increased the ability of foreign investors to acquire land in developing country markets by promoting profitable deals, creating “investment promotion agencies” and rewriting national laws., says Anuradha Mittal

Standard Bank Plc has affirmed its commitment to finance agriculture in Africa over a long term because Africa has vast stretch of arable lands. Additionally, the bank intends to improve food security and eliminate hunger in the world.

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

Joint-venture farms that have China's financial and technical support are the future of China-Africa agriculture cooperation says China State Farms Agribusiness Corporation manager.

The UK-based EPO has almost 170,000 ha of land suitable for sustainable crude palm oil cultivation and its aim is to be a 100,000 ha producer with output totalling 250,000 tonnes per annum.

As the world's available farming land shrinks in the face of population growth, climate change and soil degradation, Australia's vast tracts of land are going to be increasingly important for global food security. Is the sell-off in Australia's long term interests?

Indian tea companies, among others, are making a beeline to acquire estates in Africa. And the government is facilitating their hunt for good deals.

World Bank's MIGA provides political risk insurance for Chayton Capital's $50 million farmland investments in southern Africa.

African nations are increasingly turning to South Africa to improve their own agricultural production and skills, according to industry group Agri SA.

The 2010 edition of the Africa Progress Panel report, produced under the chairmanship of Mr Kofi Annan, addresses land grabbing in Africa.

MIGA, the political risk insurance arm of the World Bank, will support up to $50 million of Chayton's agribusiness investments in Zambia and Botswana

"Investors like Citadel Capital and Goldman Sachs must be stopped from acquiring large tracts of land in Africa because this practice has become a serious threat to the continent's food sovereignty"

Capital flows into Africa, include farmland acquisitions by foreign investors, rose 16 percent in 2008 to a record $62 billion even as FDI that year fell 20 percent worldwide

European Union governments want to develop a global code of conduct for foreign investments in agricultural land in developing countries, according to a draft paper on food security seen by Reuters.

A new report by FIAN International documents land grabbing in Kenya & Mozambique and concludes that land grabbing violates human rights.

Morocco is inviting bids from foreign and domestic investors to lease 21,000 hectares of farmland as part of its farm reform plans.

Director General of UNIDO: says land acquisition through foreign investors must be carefully considered and strictly scrutinized.

The Commission plans to launch a joint initiative with the African Union that will include a roadmap for the implementation of "sustainable large-scale investments in farmland".

An Observer investigation reveals how rich countries faced by a global food shortage now farm an area double the size of the UK to guarantee supplies for their citizens

"At an UNCTAD meeting on investment in agriculture on February 3, China became the central focus of criticism amid a chorus of concerns about the economic, food security, environmental and social impact of large foreign purchases of agricultural lands in developing countries," reports the US mission to Geneva

"Today, the Oromo issue is not hidden from the world leaders and stakeholders. However, it is being ignored. The Meles regime is selling Oromo land on world market, although this government does not have the right to sell Oromo land."

Runaway farmland and borderland giveaway deals need to be publicly scrutinized to ensure transparency (detect corruption and criminality) and to make certain that private interests (sweetheart deals) have not overtaken the public interest, or secret deals are not made to harm the Ethiopian national interest.

There are some 17 private equity funds expecting to invest $2bn-odd in agriculture in Africa in the next two years.

Citadel Capital says that their investments will mainly focus on the agriculture sector, with Tanzania's 'Kilimo Kwanza' initiative taking the centre stage.

As swathes of their country’s land is leased, cleared and prepared for food production by foreign companies, Ethiopians are divided over whether this constitutes ‘agro-colonialism’ or much-needed development

Activists and researchers in the United States are raising the alarm on what they call the "land grab" in Africa.

A UAE company is seeking a 98-year lease on vast tracts of farmland in Tanzania to grow rice in order to secure food supplies for the Gulf countries.

US government mission in Riyadh writes, "Although the idea of Saudi farms in Africa may sound farfetched, the Kingdom has for years hired foreign managers and laborers to administer its farms and other agribusinesses (e.g., most Saudi wheat farms currently have Egyptian managers)."

Private equity fund Agri-Vie will reach its $100 million target for investment in agricultural projects in Africa by March, and could triple it in a second fund

"Without significant road improvements, it is unlikely that the ADA rice will reach markets in Maryland, River Gee, or Grand Kru and Liberia will continue with an insecure food supply."