The company will also seek to obtain land concessions for additional rice cultivation in the districts of Soukhouma and Sanasomboun.

The Chinese government has long encouraged businesses to invest in agriculture abroad, and Xi Jinping's first foreign trip as president in the past week involved visits to three African countries.

Normal work at the Sime Darby Plantation in western Liberia has been stalled for the second week running, as workforce presses for better salaries and improved working conditions, having accused management of bad labor practice.

Part of the $210 million that the Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund and the Carlyle Group will invest in the Export Trading Group will be invested in Mbeya rice farms In Tanzania, where the group would cultivate rice and barley.

Agco Corp. (AGCO), the world’s third- largest farm-equipment maker, plans to invest $100 million in Africa over the next three years to capitalize on an agricultural boom and a shift to commercial farming.

Dubai-based AWGAL Investments is in advanced talks with farmers in Texas to invest in cattle farms to produce Halal-certified US beef for the GCC and MENA region.

ROPPA, Actionaid, Oxfam and EAFF have urged Nigerian and other African leaders to guarantee transparency in the management of large-scale land transactions and freeze acquisitions which do not conform to rules, regulations and the framework of the land declaration of the African Heads of States and Government of 2009.

The World Bank rejected a call by aid group Oxfam International to freeze the lender’s investment in land-intensive agricultural projects, saying such a move would not help prevent abusive practices in the purchase of acreage

The public debate about the ethics of investing in farmland is being ignored by serious investors who seem to have had no qualms about buying up large tracts of land in Africa reports the Financial Times.

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

The people of Iowa — not to mention the refugees of Katumba, Tanzania — deserve an honest explanation for Iowa State University’s part in the AgriSol deal, and not just shameless denials.

Company now manages farms on 3.6 million hectares and believes that, overall, US$25 billion of institutional capital has gone into the acquisition of farms.

In Africa, the strategy is to buy land. But in Argentina, they are forming associations that allow them to grow crops and guarantee food supplies for their population.

The Ministry of Agriculture has signed a 23.7 million Br land lease contract with Toren Agri Plc, a Turkish company, for large scale production of cotton at its head quarters at Asmera road

In Brazil, government surveys found foreigners owned 10% of the nation's cultivated land. Much of that was funds with international backing in London or New York.

The EU lured many multinational energy companies such as SBF to invest in renewable energies in developing countries such Tanzania where almost all projects are on the verge of collapse or shut down.

Mr Daniel Amelorku, District Chief Executive of South Tongu District in the Volta Region of Ghana said his district has provided 1,000 hectares of land to Global Agri-Development Company (GADCO) and would be expanded to 4,000 hectares within four years to achieve the target.

Investors in Africa’s agriculture sector need to be aware of the complexities surrounding land ownership.

Other countries believe their agricultural expertise can kickstart an agrarian revolution across the African continent

Experts meeting at the World Bank in Washington, DC, discuss how best to assist African smallholder farmers to transition from subsistence to commercial farming.

Food prices are soaring again and the highest risks of farmland expropriation remain in Latin America, while the greatest impact of the recent rally could be on land deals in Africa.

A wikileaks cable discusses the transfer of the Lamu port deal from Qatar to China. Little word about the fate of the 40,0000 ha of farmland promised to Qatar, however.

From virtually nowhere, China has rocketed to become the biggest foreign direct investor in Brazil this year with purchases ranging from iron ore mines to vast tracts of farmland and the electricity grid.

At a recent conference in Cairo, South Africa and Zimbabwe were the only African nations not considered safe havens for foreign farmland investment because of uncertainty about land-reform programmes and unfriendly labour environments.

JICA is building a new development model to encourage increased agricultural production in Africa, both to help prevent another global food crisis and to deter a land grab by foreign enterprises across the continent, according to Senior Vice President Kenzo Oshima.

Which option is better? Letting the status quo prevail? Or taking advantage of opportunities offered by oil producing countries searching for safe food sources?

"With hungry countries desperately in need of food, Ukraine land certainly provides the vehicle for a strategic investment in soft commodities." Commercial pitch for foreign investment in Ukranian farmland.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the government to seriously reconsider its plan to sell land to Saudi Arabia and other foreign investors, taking into account the welfare of hundreds of thousands of peasants whose livelihood will be directly affected.

The Gulf countries remain 'highly vulnerable' to commodity price volatility on international markets, as the recent surge in sugar prices shows.

2009 is the year characterised by Arab' 'land grabs', where developing countries have been targeted by the kingdom as having the potential to feed the swelling food demands of Saudi Arabia