A massive land grab is unfolding on the African continent, mired in secrecy and spearheaded by hedge funds, financial speculators and foreign companies. South Sudan has become one of the latest frontiers for these investors.

Karuturi Global Ltd. is to construct embankments around 25,000ha of farmland, half the size of Addis Abeba, in Gambela, at a cost of US$15 million, following its report of a loss of US$15 million due to flooding.

The Environmental Protection Agency has imposed US$50,000 fine on the Sime Darby Plantation Inc. with immediate effect as a result of non-compliance with the terms and conditions of a permit.

Wingecarribee Shire Council has asked the state and federal governments to apply greater scrutiny to the acquisition of Australian land by foreign governments by setting up a registry of foreign land ownership.

While certain provisions in contracts can contain sensitive commercial information that may require a level of confidentiality, it does not justify keeping all information about large-scale agricultural projects outside the public domain.

Asset owners and managers are signing up to a series of principles on how they invest in agricultural land. Will this mollify critics of the land grab? Nick Lord reports.

The flooding that breached specially built barriers near Karuturi’s plantations couldn’t have been predicted, Karuturi claims.

Panel of five men at the at the Global Economic Symposium in Kiel, Germany discusses the problem of “land grabbing”.

The French Development Agency and the UK-based Emergent Asset Management have been named as the leading investors in massive land deals involving African leaders

Farmland investments may return 8 percent to 12 percent annually as global food demand increases, said the largest US pensions manager for teachers and academic researchers with $469 billion of assets.

Participants at a 2-day High-Level Forum on Foreign Direct Investments in Land in Africa have resolved to promote land-based investment models that increase agricultural productivity and maximize opportunities for Africa’s farmers.

African experts gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, are discussing a common position to outlaw land grabbing by foreigners, the latest threat to food security in the continent.