Wealthy countries, and private companies from those countries, have been increasingly buying up land in poor areas for their own economic purposes, a new study says. And Israel turns out to be one of the leading land grabbers.

"There is currently more land granted in concessions, than there is land being cultivated for rice."

Two new reports by IIED look at agricultural investments and land acquisitions in Mali Ans Zambia.

Indofood Sukses Makmur is planning to acquire a 50 percent stake in a plantation company in Brazil through its subsidiary Indofood Agri Resources, as the company expands its sugar plantation business.

Report on Japan's role in the ProSAVANA programme in Mozambique by Sayaka Funada Classen.

Agriculture has scarred some big hitters in the investment world. Many are now wary of a sector that is at the mercy of fickle weather, political risk and quixotic governments.

A slew of countries and investors — from Chinese state corporations to Gulf sheiks to Wall Street firms — have started buying up farmland overseas, in an apparent attempt to acquire as much precious soil and water as possible.

Wilmar has flagged the purchase of another 778 hectares of land in the Burdekin region south of Townsville, Australia as part of its campaign to lock up as much supply as possible.

Justiça Ambiental (Friends of the Earth - Mozambique) strongly condemns the whole process of preparing and implementing ProSavana

The food crisis and recent droughts have confirmed that controlling the source of food—the land and the water that flows under or by it—are equally or even more important.

New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs says his country can be a logical partner for resource-rich Gulf countries as a producer of food in places like Africa, where experts say half of the potential agricultural land is under-utilised.

The most comprehensive publication to date on land concessions and leases in Lao PDR has been presented to the public.