Sime Darby, which is expected to employ an estimated 22,000 Liberians over the next 10 years, will cultivate roughly 220,000 hectares of land in four counties including Gbarpolu, Bomi, Grand Cape Mount and Bong.

This proposal smacks of the 18th and 19th century capitalizations of the Ottoman government that made Turkey a vassal of European powers. Thanks Mr. Korkmaz. But no thanks.

Ethiopia’s strategy of leasing farmland to foreign investors is not without critics.

Turkey has been in talks for the past year with “three big international funds” in order to hire out agricultural lands. One of the deals will be announced very soon, the country's investment promotion agency says.

The list of Indian companies that have purchased land in Africa is quite long and includes companies in businesses ranging from agriculture and horticulture to engineering and metals.

Golden VerOleum plans to acquire 200,00 hectares in south-eastern Liberia. The target areas are Grand Kru, Maryland, River Cess, River Gee and Sinoe counties. The export plans are based on a plantation system in which there are about 10 hectares for each worker.

Until last year, people in the Ethiopian settlement of Elliah earned a living by farming their land and fishing. Now, they are employees.

A delegation of 26 Egyptian agriculture companies led by Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza, is now inspecting land proposed by the Ethiopian government for Egyptian investment projects.

Citadel Capital will deploy significant capital across East Africa in 2010 in sectors spanning from agriculture to consumer foods.

On December 22, Ukraine's parliament adopted a surprisingly unanimous decision to extend the moratorium on the sale of agricultural lands until 2012. Now the ball in the president’s court – he has always considered land to be a commodity.

As food aid stamped with the World Food Programme's logo is shipped to Sudan, thousands of tons of wheat and rice are shipped out.

Mr Massimov said Kazakhstan was negotiating an agreement with China to fund farming projects in Kazakhstan. “We are not giving China any land. The land code forbids it. But if we have a buyer [for crops], be it China or Arabia, then let’s sell,” he said.