A Singapore-based investor in agriculture is to put in an investment of $50 million in 10,000 hectares of fully irrigated and precision levelled commercial rice farm in Ondorie area of Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

New Zealanders could not afford to be "totally xenophobic" towards Chinese investment because it has brought jobs and capital into the country, Prime Minister John Key said Monday.

The Argentine delegation is to present a total of 24 investment projects in the South American country during the tour, Timerman said without giving details.

Several national companies and even the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the capital's sovereign fund, are planning investments in agriculture in countries as diverse as Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan, Australia, Romania and the United States.

Abu Dhabi's Jenaan Investment owns and leases properties in Egypt and Sudan, as well as leasing land in Tanzania, Ethiopia and the US.

The World Bank report calls for global implementation of investment principles it drafted last year but notes that enforcement mechanisms do not exist.

Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co. plans to invest in Georgia, including the purchase of farm land, following a fact-finding trip in April.

The Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors said that Saudi businesspeople were keen to invest in Turkey, particularly in agriculture. “The Kingdom has a huge program involving billions of riyals for agricultural investment in countries with fertile soil and plentiful water.”

Sierra Leone signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Saudi Arabia for Saudi investment in the production of rice for home consumption and export.

Kuwait China Investment Co, a firm linked to the Gulf Arab state's sovereign wealth fund which is approaching governments in Southeast Asia to invest in farmland, said it had secured final approval to list its shares on the Kuwaiti bourse.

Bangkok was wary of GCC efforts to ensure its food supplies by purchasing rice growing lands, and now political instability is chilling the investment climate. Tom Spender reports

A private agricultural investment firm in Abu Dhabi plans a Dh925 million (US$251.8m) farmland deal in Egypt to grow wheat for the African nation’s domestic market.

"We believe there are many opportunities for investment in Thailand and Philippines and for both countries in Bahrain," a Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry representative said. "Food security is one area we are trying to emphasise. We had discussions in planting and growing bananas and rice in both countries."

GCC countries' initiatives to safeguard food security by investing in agricultural projects abroad had stalled, illustrated by the Saudi Bin Laden Group's decision to postpone a planned $4.3-billion investment in Indonesian rice production.

Are there any answers to this looming crisis? Some countries are buying land. There is vague talk about governments introducing “water management reforms”. Even more opaquely, there are calls for “multi-country discussions on trans-boundary issues, international trade and investment flows”.

Investment in the agriculture sector is currently problematic due to the international financial crisis; last year’s interest in buying up land or companies in this sector has melted away.

A South Korean company said Thursday it may delay a controversial project to develop a huge area of Madagascar for farmland due to political unrest in the Indian Ocean nation."We may have to delay our investment in Madagascar mainly due to political instability there," Shin Dong-Hyun, managing director of the financing and strategic planning department of Daewoo Logistics, told AFP.

Cambodia is in talks with several Asian and Middle Eastern governments to receive as much as $3bn in agricultural investment in return for millions of hectares in land concessions, according to a senior government official.

Schroder Investment Management is planning to launch an Agricultural Land fund, aimed at exploiting the long term returns from agricultural land brought on by the growing demand on its use and productivity.

Hedge funds and investment banks are swapping their Gucci for gumboots as they bet on rising food prices by buying farms.

From the California wine country to the Florida citrus groves and Montana ranches, a wave of Japanese investment is sweeping through American agriculture and food processing.

A controversy over land in Kenya’s Rift Valley has captured public imagination and ignited debates about foreign investment, sovereignty, history, and geopolitics. At the centre of the controversy is a 520-acre agricultural and residential project developed by Israeli investor Erez Rivkin in Solai, Nakuru County.

The Saskatchewan Government has made regulatory amendments to ensure Saskatchewan farm land is not owned by foreigners or corporations, and has removed an exemption that allowed the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to own land.

Gates was asked why he is buying so much farmland. His answer: “My investment group chose to do this ... It is not connected to climate.”

China hosted African agricultural leaders for a forum to expand and deepen cooperation, investment, and trade with African agriculture over the next 3 years. And 11 project agreements were signed by government departments, international organizations, research units, and companies, adding to 115 agricultural projects that China has in two-thirds of African countries.

Saudi Agriculture and Livestock Investment Company has joined the UAE's Al Dahra in a US$1.3bn joint venture to make agribusiness acquisitions in 10 countries in the Black Sea region, including the acquisition of farmland.

Timberland has fallen back behind farmland as a US investment. Returns from farmland jumped to 1.6% from 0.5% in the January-to-March period.

Legendary waterfront warrior Chris Corrigan could soon have one of the world’s top investors — Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board — as the main shareholder in his Australian listed agricultural company, Webster Limited.

Chinese investment company Genius Link Asset Management has trumped rival Shanghai Pengxin’s bid for the S. Kidman & Co pastoral empire just as the race for the coveted cattle stations nears the final hurdle.

Global agricultural investor the Westchester Group, owned by pension fund manager TIAA-CREF, is on the hunt to buy farms in New Zealand, after focusing its investment attention for the past 25 years on agriculture in the US, Australia and Brazil.