China's Cofco Corporation has acquired an equity stake in Australian sugar producer Tully Sugar and is said to be pursuing a take-over.

Australia is "asleep at the wheel" when it comes to foreign companies buying important agricultural land and greater scrutiny is needed, farmers say.

Colin Filer says 5 million hectares of customary land has passed into the hands of national and foreign corporations in Papua New Guinea using a legal mechanism called the 'lease-lease-back scheme'.

Prime minister's adviser on science and innovation wants Australian companies to consider buying land in Mozambique to counterbalance foreign purchases of farming land in Australia and shore up Australia's food supply.

The Australian Parliament has moved to quell some of the anxieties surrounding a perceived foreign buy-up of local land, last week passing a motion regarding foreign ownership of agricultural land and agribusiness.

Foreign ownership of Australian land and agribusiness will soon be monitored.

World food security fears may be driving the foreign rush to buy Australian farmland and agribusinesses, says Nationals' leader, Warren Truss.

Parliament is calling on the Productivity Commission to review the recent surge in foreign investment in farming, focusing on its effects on the economy and food security.

For the sake of our farmers and our national food security, the Federal Government needs to get tough on Australia's foreign investment policy.

Australian companies are interested in making investment in Pakistan’s agriculture sector from production of crops to their processing and export.

Foreign investment in Australia's food chain is increasing at a rate that is causing concern, and not just for people on the land.

Farm Lands of Guinea Limited controls nearly a quarter of a million acres of underutilized West African agricultural holdings under an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture of Guinea.

Former Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, is leading a push to get Arabs to invest in Australian farmland as part of a long term food security strategy for oil-rich Gulf States

China is gearing up for a multi-billion-dollar investment push into the Australian agricultural sector to secure food supplies after a senior official admitted the country would face pressure supplying farm produce to its 1.3 billion people over the next five years.

Mauritian-listed JPT Capital Agrifund intends to invest Stg50 million ($A80 million) in wheat farms in Australia.

"All of a sudden the world is waking up and saying, 'Wow, emerging markets, food security... this asset class is going to really perform in the medium term -- the next 8-20 years,'" says new convert James Howard, manager of the Futuregrowth Agri-Fund

Alberta pension fund pays $415 million for more than 1500 square miles of forest in Australia to be converted to timber plantations and agriculture.

Olam executive sees good side to overseas investment in Australian farming.

Hong Kong-based Nexis Holdings has a $500 million budget to purchase farmland between northern New South Wales and North Queensland.

Is the Sunshine Coast at risk of losing the farm to foreign interests?

Foreign farmland acquisitions are a telling vote of no confidence in international markets by food-deficient countries, which understandably fear a repeat of the 2008 food crisis may deny them opportunities to buy grains and other essential soft commodities at any price.

The global boom in commodities has raised the profile of three Asian agribusinesses: Olam, Wilmar and Noble, all with important farmland holdings.

"We want to make agriculture sexy," says the head of Macquaraie's Retail Agribuiness operation.

It may appear contradictory for the Japanese government to support aggressive investment in overseas land while seeking ways to restrict purchases by foreign interests at home.

The shift of power in Australia’s Federal Parliament, which is now largely in the hands of a few independents representing rural and regional constituencies, combined with the increasingly vocal calls for scrutiny of foreign investment has sent signals of a more protectionist stance for Australian agriculture.

If former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke has his way, Saudi Arabia will produce its food in Australia.

"Indian law does not allow foreign companies to buy land and therefore Omani companies can enter into a contract farming relationship," says senior Indian government official.

New Zealand’s overseas investment regime will be on the US’ hit list during the Trans Pacific Partnership talks this week.

Government has taken action to resolve lingering speculation and strengthen transparency surrounding the degree of foreign ownership in Australian agriculture.

Australia's center-left Labor government said Tuesday it will examine foreign ownership of the country's rural land and agricultural food production in response to a spate of takeovers that have triggered anxiety about job losses and broader concerns about food security.