China's growing appetite is beginning to cause worry in Brazil, particularly as it relates to land acquisition in areas where soya is grown, and is generating mistrust in the private sector and even in the government.

While the previous administration’s attempt to aggressively promote Chinese investments met stiff opposition, Senator Pangilinan said there must be a way to develop eight million hectares of the Philippines' idle forest lands.

Part of the produce would go to local markets of producing countries, which have to provide necessary protection to Saudi investors through long-term agreements. A first such agreement was signed with the Philippines in February 2010.

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.

Lao government has approved agricultural investments worth US$1.5 billion, covering more than 300 projects, which are implemented under land concession agreements and farming contracts

Locals in Liberia accuse company of illegally clearing their land and of poor labor and environmental practices.

Land deals, whether as direct purchases or long-term leases, are being brokered in poor countries by advanced capitalist countries and their TNCs

Adecoagro SA, a farmland venture in South America that’s backed by billionaire George Soros, plans to raise as much as $429 million in an initial public offering in the US as food prices surge.

Gulf governments have focused almost exclusively on controlling land where food is grown, investing in projects and buying land in North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and central Asia. Perhaps the better strategy would be to look for food closer to home.

As Gulf states continue to invest in foreign farmland, what are the long term implications

A closer look at Qatar’s successful bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the relationship between sports investments by oil-rich nations and acquisitions by their sovereign wealth funds.

"We have set up a global food system that supports speculation. And with [such] markets, we can't get speculators out of the food business," said Lester Brown, an agricultural policy expert and founder of the Washington-based Earth Policy Institute.