Under a proposal from Australia's federal government the 15 per cent concessional rate of withholding tax for foreign investors in agricultural land will be lifted to 30 per cent by July 1 next year.

The US university, through its endowment fund, maintains a business chain with Brazilian companies and its subsidiaries to circumvent Brazilian law, according to a report.

The subsidiary of Dole Asia, which is owned by Itochu of Japan, has acquired 574 ha of land in Lugbu chiefdom and intends to increase this area to 4,335 ha over the next three years.

A new report details the web of companies with which Harvard Management Company, the university’s investment arm, directly invests in farmland around the world, risking conflict with communities from California to Brazil.

The university's endowment fund, meant to support educational and research goals, was misused to acquire 850,000 hectares of farmland across 5 continents during the past 10 years.

The university’s holdings in developing markets have proved to be more trouble than they’re worth.

One of the world's major buyers of farmland is under fire for their involvement in land conflicts, environmental destruction and risky investments. A new report by GRAIN and Rede Social de Justiça e Direitos Humanos presents, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of Harvard University's controversial investments in global farmland.

Ahmet Hasan, the general manager of Royal Link, which manages the investments of Qatar Holding, says they have acquired a huge tract of land for the production of dried fruit and several Qatari companies have acquired other large areas of farmland.

The Australian farming business BFB Pty Ltd, with its portfolio of 28 farms covering 48,753 ha, will be pitched to Australian superannuation funds and offshore sovereign wealth investors.

The African Development Bank and the FAO form a new strategic alliance that involves joint advocacy and policy advice activities to promote the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems.

The right of indigenous people to land and territories is protected by international legal conventions. But campaigners say native groups are struggling with encroachment by governments and logging, mining and agribusiness companies.

Hundreds of clients have used the services of the German company in order to participate in projects such as cattle breeding, orange plantations or vegetable production in greenhouses in Paraguay

Award-winning Cameroonian journalist Madeleine Ngeunga and Fern’s Indra Van Gisbergen recently visited villages in the shadow of Socapalm’s oil palm plantations to see if issues driving the dispute between locals and the company are being resolved.

Abraaj Capital, the PE firm that was very active in the rush to buy global farmland after the food financial crises of 2008, has collapsed and is under investigation for “mismanagement, comingling of funds and misappropriation of assets"

Friends of the Earth Netherlands launched a report warn that Dutch Banks ABN AMRO, ING and Rabobank have to take responsibility for the disastrous environmental and social consequences of providing finance to the palm oil sector at large scale.

Food security of the Gulf states is heavily dependent on foreign imports. Europe and the Americas have been the traditional markets supplying food to them, but recent development of African Continental Free Trade Area may encourage Gulf investors to embrace potential opportunities in Africa.

The Bukhoro-Agro free economic zone is expected to host local and foreign investment in greenhouses, offering special tax and customs regimes valid on its territory and financing from international financial institutions

Naivasha-based flower firm Karuturi has sued Stanbic Bank and four receiver managers for allegedly thwarting its revival through mismanagement and secret acquisition of loans.

Judicial police say they have found evidence of money laundering and the use of irregular documents in the acquisition of vineyards.

The decision was announced a week after Greenpeace issued a report that exposed links to Gama Plantation, a palm oil business that Greenpeace accused of destroying rainforest twice the size of Paris in Papua, Indonesia.

A new report uncovers how international pension funds, foreign investments and institutions are tearing down any future for rural communities in Northeastern Brazil.

Dutch-based ABN AMRO, ING and Rabobank are structurally involved in scandals concerning destruction of rainforest and land-grabbing in Asia and Africa. Milieudefensie is calling on the banks to cease financing the industrial palm oil sector.

Brazilian agribusiness corporations have created partnerships with pension funds in the United States, Canada, and Europe for the “outsourcing” of land operations that are analogous to the international outsourcing of labor.

NAFSN in Senegal failed: Civil society calls on policy makers to put smallholder farmers at the core of strategies to address food security and nutrition.

Land prices have increased dramatically and despite a moratorium on foreign land purchasing, foreign entities have found a way to buy land. Polish farmers are despairing and protesting en masse.

2017 went down as one of the deadliest years ever for land defenders. It was also a pretty bad year for several land grabbers.

The lives of more than 3,000 people came to a standstill when the Karuturi flower farm shut its doors in May 2015 after being placed under receivership over accrued debt.

A Chinese company recently bought nearly 1,000 hectares of French farmland. Pourquoi? "To put French cereals on Chinese tables," its owner says.

There are signs that Brazil’s overvalued farmland may continue to face further contested land risks, especially if Brazilian prosecutors continue to analyze investments that lack clear land title.

On the occasion of the publication of Transnational Corporations and Land Speculation in Brazil, Mary Taylor of LeftEast spoke with Fábio Pitta, Devlin Kuyek and Attila Szőcs about the broader implications of the report's findings.