"You get a clash of sovereignties. You might take an individual to court or a corporation to court. But I think you'll be very concerned if you take a country to court especially when that country is far bigger than the one you live in," Australian Senator Joyce said.
"Ultimately, we want to see more, not less, investment in Australian agriculture for the benefit of our industry, but we need to be very clear about the motives," says Jock Laurie, head of Australia's National Farmers Federation
Minister of Agriculture says Chinese government controlled company's acquisition of some of the Australia's richest food growing areas is too great a risk for the nation.
Romanian officials have started to express worries about an increasing number of foreign companies buying agricultural land in Romania.
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.
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.
Not only collecting sweet potatoes in Vietnam, Chinese have also been coming to Vietnam, leasing land to grow sweet potatoes to export to third countries.
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Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives shadow minister Meshack Opurukwa has questioned a contract between the government of Tanzania and a US-based firm – Agrisol Energy – in which the latter is to acquire huge chunks of land in Rukwa region to produce food crops.
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.
Victims of land disputes nationwide are being encouraged to unite, as figures released yesterday highlighted the magnitude of what is often referred to as an “epidemic of land grabbing” in Cambodia.
The Committee on World Food Security at its meeting of October 2010 requested the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition to conduct a study on land tenure and international investments in agriculture and to present the findings at its next session in October 2011
When it comes to famine in Africa, China seems an easy target for critics of its rising outbound investments.
Argentina's Congress is gearing up for a debate on a bill to limit the amount of farmland foreigners can buy, amid a surge of interest in land deals triggered by rising food prices.
As large-scale land purchases for food production become commonplace, the FAO is finalising a set of guidelines to help improve land-tenure governance and encourage transparency in deals.
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 debate on large scale land acquisition in Tanzania is far from over as there is a changing dynamic now as local investors team up in joint venture with foreign investors and we are made to believe that since we have one of our own in the investment venture our interests are taken care of.
Bloomberg's Alan Katz reports on Morgan Stanley's farming venture on the steppes of Ukraine which it abandoned in July 2009. The failed gamble demonstrates how Wall Street firms, in the last gasp of a debt-fueled bull market, strayed further from their traditional businesses to embrace diverse projects with unfamiliar risks.
PPF entry into Russian farming via Rav Agro-Pro acquisition affirms Czech billionaire Petr Kellner’s confidence in his position there
The Ethiopian government has miserably failed to engage and convince citizens about the present and long-term implications of farmland grabbing.
Peasant movements concur that in the absence of control over their lands, real food sovereignty is impossible.
Editor of Banking Magazine, El Tijani Hussein Al Khabeir, says that Sudan is capable of feeding one quarter of world population and five folds of Arab countries population
The level and manner of foreign investment in Australian agriculture is sounding alarm bells amid growing concern that the nation's own food security could be compromised.
Chinese company presidents met with Australian officials and company reps in Sydney to discuss ag investments, ranging from a $25 million, 20,000 ha cotton farm to a $350 million farmland purchase in Western Australia and Queensland.
Report examines the driving factors behind foreign investment in Australian agriculture and describes processes by which foreign investment in farmland is monitored and regulated in Australia and other selected countries.
On his farm at Coleambally, NSW, John Ward admits he is feeling emotional about how foreign investment into Australian agricultural land has been handled.
A controversial plan approved by Tajikistan’s Ministry of Agriculture to lease 6,000 hectares of land to China for development has been met with suspicion by some members of the country’s political opposition
The processes of concentration, foreign ownership and land degradation came to be a central concern of supranational bodies and NGOs that warn of the “negative effects of these phenomena on food security, agricultural employment and the development of family farming.”
Six foreign-owned companies are currently trying to secure over 1 million hectares (about 2.5 million acres) of land for the production of palm oil in the country's forested southern zone, according to a coalition of environmental organisations.
Multinazionali e governi stranieri stanno correndo ad accaparrarsi terre in Africa, per garantirsi cibo e biofuel. Il nuovo colonialismo avanza e minaccia centinaia di milioni di contadini
The Gillard Government (Australia) has announced a working group to consult on the development of a Commonwealth foreign ownership register for agricultural land.
