The stalled Jordanian agricultural megaproject in Sudan is expected to be resumed at the beginning of 2009

Cambodian government yesterday gave green light to a Chinese-owned firm, Longmate Agriculture Co Ltd, to invest in a banana plantation in Kampot province. Three plantatios cover 5,000 hectares of land that can produce up to 14,000 tonnes of bananas according to Cambodia General Director of Agriculture.

The Agric Minister-designate of Ghana says the sector under the current administration will pursue foreign investments in a bid to increase production.

The Sudanese government will take back a plot of land allocated for a Jordanian agricultural megaproject if the government does not implement the project within two weeks

Thailand is keen on reaching bilateral agreements with Qatar on various economic investments from agriculture particularly on food, oil and gas and tourism sectors, visiting Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.

New Zealand’s main opposition Labour Party will tighten restrictions on overseas purchases of the country’s assets if it is elected to government next year.

Not a single farmer has been dispossessed of his holding on account of foreign investment, blasts Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

"It's very, very cheap, it's incredibly fertile, and it hasn't been overexploited. And if you take in some expertise and some machinery and some fertilizer, you should make a lot of money," says investment guru Jim Rogers of Africa's farmlands

Australia's agriculture minister, Barnaby Joyce, has defended the government’s newly tightened foreign investment regime before key agricultural industry stakeholders.

The New South Wales Farmers Association, in Australia, has switched policies to back much tighter restrictions on foreign companies and investment funds buying Australian farmland.

Money from pension funds has fuelled the financial sector's massive move into farmland investing over the past decade. The number of pension funds involved in farmland investment and the amount of money they are deploying into it is increasing, under the radar.

Leading Australian economists, commentators and even political enemies have joined the federal Minister for Trade and Investment Craig Emerson in condemning Opposition plans to tighten control over foreign investment.

Sipp operator warns of spike in overseas property investment schemes that could leave you short-changed.

The Financial Times reported this week that TIAA-CREF is developing a new “investment vehicle” that will bet the retirement funds of millions of American on the rising price of farmland around the world.

Civil society organisations and global farmers' networks are gathered in Rome this week to ask governments to stop the "disastrous practice of land grabbing", ahead of next week's Committee on World Food Security.

Two issues are bound to feature in New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser's talks in Beijing next week: New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra’s market power in the China domestic market and Chinese investment intentions within New Zealand.

The creation this week of the 'Save our Farms' campaign to block foreign ownership of New Zealand farm land has fired up a debate that needs to be had.

Agreements between the State Government and Chinese-owned Kimberley Agricultural Investment were reached this week, overing 7400ha at Goomig Farmlands, near Kununurra, as part of the Ord Stage 2 project

Last week, Uganda received a 35 man business delegation from India interested in the country’s agribusiness potential and boosting its exploits. Mr Ramakrishna Karuturi, the leader of the delegation, said the team intends to invest up to $2 billion in agribusiness pending the issue of investment licences.

The highly-contested Principles on Responsible Agricultural Investment are back on the table this week, as the annual Conference on Land and Poverty opens at the World Bank.

Saudi Star Agricultural Development Plc, the newest food growing company formed by Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi, is to acquire 100,000sqm of land in Bishoftu (Debre Zeit) this week, its senior official disclosed.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi calls it the “new feudalism.” Groups representing peasant farmers call it “land grabs.” The United Nations literature dispersed at this week's UN food summit in Rome calls it “direct foreign investment.”

The expectation in Ukraine is that billions of dollars of fresh investment and agriculture reforms, namely sanctioning of agriculture land sales, could double or triple domestic grain production to 100-150 million tons levels in the long term.

At a week-long camp held in Kassanda district, members of the informal Alliance for victim communities of irresponsible land investments have resolved to use any available opportunity at their disposal to re-build a new life.

A group of potential investors from Trinidad and Tobago were in Guyana last week to scout local lands suitable for large-scale farming initiatives, as part of an MOU between the two countries signed last year.

Last week representatives of communities, indigenous peoples and NGOs met in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia to discuss deforestation and the rights of forest peoples.

China's foreign investment and cooperation in agriculture must recognize the "deep changes in the domestic and foreign environment," "seize opportunities" and "take the initiative" according to Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs officials .

Fonterra's owners are worried about the cooperative's $800m investment in establishing dairy farms in China, which yielded only $1m in earnings last year, despite a $38m subsidy of their operations by Fonterra's China ingredients division.

"UAE relies on food imports and we are very concerned with food security so we are very willing to invest heavily in Zimbabwe's agriculture," Dr Andre Homberg of Tabarak Investment Bank said.

Describing itself as a consultant and “master distributor” of products designed “to bring working capital to a variety of projects” – including upgrading farmland overseas and forestry –Intelligent Partnership published a 76 page report on the alternatives sector this week.