Bahrain and other Gulf countries' plan to buy agricultural land in Thailand to bolster their food supplies could be thwarted, it has emerged.

It's certainly questionable whether the lease of agricultural land to foreign countries for the purposes of their own food supply is in the best interests of Pakistan, even if it brings in agricultural technology. What do the Arab farmers have that our agricultural universities don't?

In June 2009, the Indian company Karuturi took up intensive farming in Ethiopia. The harvest will be exported to Asia and Europe.

Gulf investors may be forced to reconsider plans to acquire agricultural land in Thailand following moves there that could curb foreign investment in the sector.

A Hassad Food advisor explained to Emboff September 3 that the company tailors its involvement in each country to the preferences of its partner in order to minimize local "backlash" to the company's actions.

Canadian investor acquires 100,000 hectare plantation in DRC as part of its investment in farmland and large-scale food crop production in Africa.

Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, is cracking down on foreign ownership of its farmland following reports of rich Middle East food importers snapping up vast tracts of land in poorer countries.

Ray White Rural chairman Paul White said there was interest in Australian rural property from Chinese, Malaysian and Indonesian investment groups, looking to secure their food supply for the future.

Pursuing its strategy of penetrating the Middle East market, the company has set up a special committee to study the possibility to increase exports to the region. So far, the company has signed a farming contract with Bahrain for supplying food products.

Pakistan's Ministry of Investment has decided to offer more than 7 million acres of farmland for long-term investment to the Emirates Investment Group and others. China and Saudi Arabia are also interested.

"Over the past few weeks the Saudi government has been in talks with us to lease 500,000 acres (202,400 hectares) of farmland and we are currently in the process of locating which land we could give them," Tauqir Ahmad Faiq at the ministry of agriculture, said

Mauritius has secured a large area of land in Mozambique to produce hybrid rice for export back hom through a joint venture with a Singaporean company.