Foreign interests into the South Sudan pie have managed to secure some 5.74 million hectares of land for agribusiness concerns namely agriculture, forestry, biofuels, eco-tourism and carbon trading.

Elders has begun a sale of all its forestry plantations totalling 50,000ha across the country. Much of the land purchased is expected to be planted with sugar cane, bananas or returned to beef grazing, and COFCO and Wilmar International have indicated their interest.

Cofco Ltd., China’s largest grains trader, said it is seeking overseas acquisitions to help secure supplies of commodities including soybeans, wheat and sugar as rising domestic incomes spur faster food demand growth.

More than 613,000 hectares of Australia's NSW's agricultural land is owned by UK-based investors, compared with 227,300 ha owned by Korean interests and 55,560 ha by US investors.

"People are having their land stolen from them, literally, without even being aware it has happened, let alone consenting."

Developers hover as 5 million hectares, and national pride, are signed away in 99-year leases that have raised fears of corruption.

Wingecarribee Shire Council has asked the state and federal governments to apply greater scrutiny to the acquisition of Australian land by foreign governments by setting up a registry of foreign land ownership.

Shadow minister for agriculture and food security, John Cobb, said it was concerning that in the past three years there had been a 10-fold increase in foreign investment in ownership and control of agricultural supply lines.

The National Farmers Federation says the figures that show Australian farm land to be about 90 per cent locally owned is a small part of the picture. It's just one of three studies, with the others looking into the value of farm production.

New figures by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show more than 12 per cent of land used for agriculture in South Australia is owned by foreign interests.

According to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as at 31 December 2010, 89% of the nation's agricultural land was Australian owned.

"As investors we always want to be on the correct side of global macro trends, and whatever China needs or is buying lots of, we want to own as investments."

While foreign investment is nothing new in the Australian sugar industry, the rate at which foreign companies have been pouring money into the industry has caused some concern among canegrowers.

China's most powerful agricultural company Beidahuang Group, BDH, has made offers on a number of farms in the state's south west, amounting to about 80,000 hectares of land.

Australian farmer Doug Clarke says farmers should not be criticised for making a commercial return from selling their farms to Chinese investors, if the government’s current rules and regulations allow it.

China's most powerful agricultural company, Beidahuang Group, is looking to acquire 80,000 hectares of Western Australia farmland, with several farmers on the verge of signing.

Biopalm Energy, a subsidiary of Singapore's Siva group, will launch a 200,000 hectare palm oil project in the south of Cameroon, an official of the country's agriculture ministry said.

Agricultural analyst at Citi Investment Research, Tim Mitchell, recently calculated that "rural raiders" from overseas had spent "well in excess of $12 billion" over the past four years on Australian agribusinesses and farms.

The Western Australian Farmers Federation has concerns that Chinese companies are considering buying farms (80,000 ha) across WA's Great Southern and South West.

A number of growers in the Great Southern have been approached by a prominent Chinese company with offers to buy farms.

Jim Rogers, the co-founder with George Soros of the Quantum hedge fund, is particularly bullish about agriculture saying that shortages in a range of agricultural products will produce strong prices not only in those commodities but also in farm land.

Farmers have urged the state government to establish a register that would list Victorian farms that have been bought by foreign owners. The call comes as concerns grow over the level of foreign ownership of Australian farms and over the control of productive food resources.

Outback Australian farmers - hardened from dealing with extreme weather, fires and pests - now have to wrestle with modern trading tools and technology after a tough day tilling the land as they adapt to the rigors of a deregulated market.

Chinese companies could be encouraged to invest in Australian agricultural businesses instead of buying up farms under a new foreign investment model based on the practice in the mining sector.

Australians do realise the value of what is being sold, a land agent and rural property specialist said, "but their hands are tied because they can't raise the money".

The Italian-based Reda Holding SpA owns 16,660 ha in the Waitaki Valley

Community agitation grows as farmers feel threatened in New South Wales

New Zealand’s relative isolation and high-priced property means the nation has missed out on a global grab for land, especially farms, despite rising public disquiet about such sales, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research says.

Corporate Chinese interest in Australian rural land assets is gaining momentum and there are several players on the hunt across a wide spectrum of ­sectors: sugarcane, cotton, wool, tomatoes and grapes for wine.

Overseas buyers may boost investment in agriculture assets in Australia, the fourth-biggest shipper of wheat, as they seek to secure supply to meet surging food demand, said Queensland Sugar Ltd. Chairman Alan Winney.