The urgency among Gulf states to pursue farmland acquisitions has diminished as food prices have gone down and controversy has gone up. Still, Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with its plans.

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)."

Accaparement des terres - cas de l'Ethiopie - par AGTER

Ruchi Soya Industries, one of the leading edible oil processors, on Friday announced a major farm land acquisition in Ethiopia for soybean cultivation.

Karuturi believes the potential for large profits is so great that it plans to invest nearly $1bn in its Ethiopian agricultural operations

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

“We are in big trouble with the government of Madagascar,” said Shin Dong-hyun, the general manager of planning and finance at Daewoo Logistics Corporation.

Documentary for Japan Broadcasting Corporation, focusing on Tanzania and Ethiopia

Programme aired on NHK World presenting a documentary by Kohei Tsuji filmed in Ethiopia and Tanzania - in Japanese only - 35 minutes

A one-day workshop on the scramble for land, ‘investment’ and environmental degradation in Oromia: consequences for the future (City University London, 3 July 2010)

L’achat massif de ces terres aux seules fins de spéculation financière porte en lui le germe du conflit, du désastre environnemental, du chaos politique et de la faim à un degré jamais connu dans le passé, écrit Joan Baxter.

The much-discussed Congo land-lease, granting 200,000 hectares to South African farmers with a further 10 million hectares in the balance, appears to mark a departure from the usual terms underpinning foreign acquisition of fertile land by multinationals

Ginbot 7 wants to send an unequivocal message to the land grabbers that any land deal that has not been agreed to by the Ethiopian people will not be honored by future elected governments.

Ethiopia’s strategy of leasing farmland to foreign investors is not without critics.

The list of Indian companies that have purchased land in Africa is quite long and includes companies in businesses ranging from agriculture and horticulture to engineering and metals.

Until last year, people in the Ethiopian settlement of Elliah earned a living by farming their land and fishing. Now, they are employees.

A delegation of 26 Egyptian agriculture companies led by Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza, is now inspecting land proposed by the Ethiopian government for Egyptian investment projects.

As food aid stamped with the World Food Programme's logo is shipped to Sudan, thousands of tons of wheat and rice are shipped out.

A long term land lease (25 000 ha) for cotton farming in Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz regions for a period of 50 years (renewable)

Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri said in remarks late on Tuesday that the UAE's food security strategy, which includes overseas agricultural investments, would be put before the federal cabinet for consideration.

No less than 4,000 hectares in the Davao region have been identified by Middle Eastern-based companies to grow their products.

"Some progress has been achieved with some African countries" to create farmland investment opportunities, Saudi Industry & Trade Minister Abdullah bin Ahmad Zainal said. He added more talks would be held with countries in southern and eastern Africa, without being more specific.

Qatar has embarked on a food-security programme to make it more self-sufficient and help the communities around its farmland projects in developing countries.

"This apparent rush to lease so much farmland, much or all of it to foreign interests, during a time of worsening food insecurity should raise concern within the donor community about GoE motivations and negotiating capacity," writes the US embassy in Addis Ababa in December 2009

"On today's Human Rights Day, we demand that States fulfill their obligation to respect and protect the right to food of their citizens and abroad by preventing large scale land grabbing" says Sofia Monsalve of FIAN International.

Foreign investment in African agriculture means the creation of jobs, the introduction of modern knowledge and technology, and desperately needed additions to countries' tax bases, writes DW's Ludger Schadomsky.

Al-Amoudi's recently established Saudi Star Agricultural Development Plc requested, two weeks ago, an additional 250,000 ha of land in Ethiopia for sugar beet production.

That Korea is no longer "importing" this food that is being grown overseas implies that this land is effectively Korean. This amounts to agricultural imperialism.

Ethiopia's potential can be maximized only if we Ethiopians are the producers and sellers of our own agricultural products. What Meles Zenawi is doing now is putting this upside down. He made our potential buyers the sellers of our commodity.

"Leasing or giving away a huge chunk of land to foreigners, who will produce food to be shipped to their own people, and to hope that the money gained in profits will feed the local people is the height of naivete," Gathuru Mburu of ABN said