Public opinion is clearly against the Crafar farms sale on the basis that NZ is "selling the farm", while selling a controlling stake in a processing plant is seen as another issue altogether. There is a strong argument for conditionality either way, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

The Federal Opposition is supporting a call for a national register of foreign purchases of land and water in rural Australia.

The UK-based EPO has almost 170,000 ha of land suitable for sustainable crude palm oil cultivation and its aim is to be a 100,000 ha producer with output totalling 250,000 tonnes per annum.

Arab nations are considering launching an ambitious strategy involving investment of nearly $65 billion in the next 20 years to expand their farming sector and ensure food for their fast-growing population.

The Greens have called for a national register of foreign purchases of land and water in Australia.

Guyana investment agency is working with several investors who have interest in large projects for soybean, livestock, cattle and rice covering 70,000 acres in Pirara, Region 9.

Prime Minister John Key yesterday warned of other potential foreign buyers of large tracts of New Zealand farmland lining up behind the Hong Kong company bidding for the Crafar farms as his Government signalled a new focus on overseas investment rules.

Hedge funds and bankers are buying everything from farmland to mines across the Global South. Mark L Thomas looks at how speculators here fuel exploitation half a world away

Investors in farmland are targeting countries with weak laws, buying arable land on the cheap and failing to deliver on promises of jobs and investments, according to the draft of a report by the World Bank.

The New Zealand Government has signalled it is unlikely to change overseas investment rules to make it easier for land to be sold to foreigners.

New Zealand's Green Party has drafted a bill seeking to stop overseas buyers snapping up large tracts of NZ land. Australian farmers also fear they may have trouble coping with future food and water demands if foreign interests snap up too many of the nation's agricultural resources.

Critics say Australia's Labor party has failed to come to grips with country's future food security, including the acquisition of domestic farmland by foreign investors