In recent years, Mennonite Christians have been joined by Brazilian ranchers and private European investors, mainly from France, Germany and the Netherlands, to partake in a 21st Century land rush that has wiped out 1m hectares - nearly 10% of the forest - in just four years.

China, the second-largest buyer of soy in the world wants an end to intermediation by U.S multinational companies working in the sector and plans to invest purchasing directly from farmers in Mato Grosso and another five states in Brazil.

Despite all the attention on Chinese bids for New Zealand dairy farms, it is in fact Germany that is fast expanding its investments in this sector.

The Funds will invest in agricultural, renewable energy plantations and forestry businesses, with a fundamental principal of owning the core assets through the funds with the management of all operations carried out by established operators in the region.

One of New Zealand's richest men has emerged as a white knight investor with a $105 million bid for big dairy farms that could otherwise be sold to China.

The Western Australian Farmers Federation has concerns that Chinese companies are considering buying farms (80,000 ha) across WA's Great Southern and South West.

Victims of land disputes nationwide are being encouraged to unite, as figures released yesterday highlighted the magnitude of what is often referred to as an “epidemic of land grabbing” in Cambodia.

Fact sheet on FLGI, filed with US government. Points out that Guinea's Ministry of Agriculture has granted the firm exclusive marketing rights, with a commission of 15% payable on closed sales, to the 1.5 million ha of farmland FLGI agreed to survey.

After two years with little progress, the government is considering shifting the location of its planned food estate to East Kalimantan from Papua because of the availability of land.

Under the agreement, China's Complant International Sugar Industry Co. Ltd. will be leased roughly 18,000 hectares of cane fields for the next 49 years.

"The Big Banana" shows the effects of an export banana plantation on the Mungo area of Cameroon

The government of Bangladesh has taken a fresh move to re-evaluate the proposed contract farming agreement for food-grain production in Africa to meet the country's demand.