Foreign ownership of farms stirred birthright rhetoric from Labour leader David Cunliffe but gave Prime Minister John Key some of his most assured moments in last night's TVNZ debate.

The Wellcome Trust’s recent acquisition of the Co-operative Group’s farm business for £249m has turned the spotlight on investment in agricultural land in the UK.

Lands Minister says it is unacceptable that some investors were taking advantage of chiefs around the country to obtain huge tracts of land for their projects.

The Swedish pension fund is considering increasing its exposure to Southern Pastures, a New Zealand dairy farm fund, alongside six other investors including the New Mexico Education Retirement Board.

Swedish pension fund AP Fonden 2 has invested $750 million to TIAA-CREF Global Agriculture II, confirming rumours that the pension was one of three foreign investors contributing to the vehicle’s $1.4 billion fundraise.

China's Sichuan province is in talks to invest $300 million in cotton, rice and fruit production in Uganda, a senior Ugandan official said on Wednesday.

The proposed laws to restrict foreign ownership of plantations in Indonesia is not a deterrent to Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd’s plans to expand its operations in that country.

Stockholm-listed Agrokultura, with Russian sports retail tycoon Nikolay Fartushnyak now as its top investor, has yet to report a profit since it was founded in 2006.

Global private equity firm KKR has returned to China’s agriculture industry this week with a $400 million deal for a minority stake in Fujian Sunner Development, a vertically integrated chicken meat producer.

Khartoum Region will capture 30 percent of the $13 billion in Saudi investments, which are primarily focused on agriculture and mining says a senior official at the Sudanese Higher Council of Investment.

Close 60 per cent of ­farmers in a major new survey still believe there should be less foreign direct investment in Australian farms.

A Scandanavian pension fund has poured $20 million into Australian dairy farms to help lift stagnant local milk production.