Saudi Arabia announces the launch of Agroinvest, which will focus on farm acquisitions abroad to grow wheat, rice, soybeans and other crops in Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Pakistan and Turkey

Private equity used to stay away from anything to do with agriculture, put off by the uncontrollable risks of bad climate and natural disasters. And yet in the last three years some big funds have been launched in the agribusiness space, and they are busy trying different ways of mitigating the risks.

Some Gulf countries may now be realising the importance of offering direct loans to African countries as a means to increase Arab investment.

China has taken a lead in efforts to boost Africa’s farm production, putting pressure on GCC states to also find long-term solutions for food supply in Africa

Land and water grabs spell disaster for rural people and rivers

Amr Abdel Wahab, chairperson and managing director of the Egyptian Countryside Development Company, signed an investment contract with Al Magd Group for a 29,000-feddan area for the large-scale cultivation of oil seed crops

The farm intends to cultivate 500 acres of field crops and has already leased 100 acres from the Guyana Lands & Surveys Commission which has made arrangements for another 150 acres held by farmers under lease from the government.

Pakistan Chambers of Commerce calls upon the government to unveil rules and regulations for agriculture real estate investment trusts to enable large stretches of land to be sold to individuals or legal entities.

Cambodian government awarded a new Economic Land Concession (ELC) in March 2022 for the first time in nearly a decade despite an existing moratorium on ELCs. The new ELC site comprises more than 5,000 hectares of forest land in Stung Treng province.

Minerva is 35% owned by the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company, which already has 211,000 hectares of farmland and two mutton processing plants in Western Australia.

The partnership with Olam is expected to enrich SALIC’s roles to deliver food security in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar "come together in solidarity and fraternity to amplify the voices of African communities struggling for land justice"

The Public Investment Fund has transferred its ownership stakes in Almarai, the National Agricultural Development Company, and the Saudi Fisheries Company to the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC).

The Dutch newspaper Trouw identified at least seven projects that FMO funded in which the companies involved were connected to murder, intimidation, environmental damage, arbitrary arrests and land grabbing.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company signed an agreement to join forces in the search of investment projects in the Russian agricultural sector

MOUs signed by UAE government include a 2,500 ha SEZ zone with Uganda for large-scale agricultural development and another with Al Dahra Holding for collaboration on the implementation of the National Strategy for Future Food Security.

A leading Chinese livestock and meat processing firm wants to tap supply of cattle from south-east Asia, with a cattle quarantine and slaughtering hub planned for the city of Ruili, on the border with Myanmar.

A Danish government investment fund is one of four investors in a huge new pig breeding and processing project that has just broken ground in northern China.

Abu Dhabi-based Elite Agro, which already cultivates on a large area in Morocco and 100 hectares in Serbia, says it will become one of the top blueberry growers in the world.

Chinese land acquisition and control is a point of concern for not just farmers, but the state government as well. There are no exact figures for how much farmland is currently being used by Chinese businesses, but it is estimated to be thousands of acres.

More dissenting voices are being raised in West and Central African countries, as local communities and NGOs condemn land grabbing by industrial oil palm and rubber plantations company Socfin

The collaboration of the two companies is part of the overall development of Amatheon’s already 40 000 hectares titled farm block.

Economist of CI Capital says farming sector requires “more corporatisation”, as the majority of the country’s arable areas of land, largely extending along the river Nile, are family-owned.

Aid groups estimate that 770,000 people, or 6 per cent of Cambodia's population, have been evicted since 2000, including 20,000 people in the first three months of 2014.

Despite earlier commitments that safeguards on land rights would be strengthened, the proposed policy changes would gut essential requirements necessary to prevent displacement, impoverishment, and environmental damage.

The European Union (EU) has provided Tanzania a grant of 59.5 million euros for improved agri-business and trade facilitation that will support the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania.

Saudi companies are making major forays into agriculture in Sudan as is evident from the recent acquisition of agricultural lands covering an area of approximately 4,000 acres in Sudan's northern region

Palm oil cluster industry Chairman Raul Nuevas said most of these foreign investors are looking for “big contiguous area” of 100,000 ha that they can lease for 100 years.

With vast tracts of rich, black earth but antiquated infrastructure, Ukraine is attracting interest from Chinese companies hoping to meet their nation’s growing demand for grains and meat.

The Hadzabe people of Tanzania are acquiring basic skills on how to survive in a globalised world, where investment in land translates into money.