In April, concerns over farmers’ rights led the government of Pakistan’s Balochistan province to block direct deals between United Arab Emirates-based private investors and farmers.

Russia is in talks with Japanese companies to secure investment in Siberian farmland and Pacific ports that would allow the world's No. 3 wheat exporter to carve a greater share of Asian markets, a senior grain official said.

The World Bank Group’s Investment Climate Advisory Service is developing a new set of indicators called the Investing Across Borders project.

"They are selling off African land for a song," said Ndiogou Fall, president of the executive committee for the Network of Peasant Organizations and Producers in West Africa (ROPPA), which is calling for dialogue between governments, producers and African and foreign investors.

Palong Piroomyu, a 52-year-old farmer from Bang Len in Nakhon Pathom province, is preparing to sell his portion of farmland to a Bangkok-based buyer. He's not concerned about who the buyers are or that some may even be quietly representing foreigners.

The Bangkok Post asked two prominent figures to discuss the pros and cons of foreign farmland ownership.

Land buying firms no longer disclose their identities to avoid tarnishing their image

Instead of offering incentives on a similar scale to local farmers, Islamabad is offering legal and tax concessions, with legislative cover, to foreign investors in the form of specialised agricultural and livestock 'free zones' and may also introduce legislation to exempt such investors from government-imposed tax bans. The most worrisome aspect of such wheeling-dealing is the government's decision to develop a new security force of 100,000 men spread across the four provinces to ensure stability of the Arab investments.

"Jamais deux sans trois", dit-on. L'adage se vérifie avec la concession du Malawi, après l'Ethiopie, de quelques 55 000 ha de terres agricoles en faveur de Djibouti.

Mr Patima, of Colliers International, said trying to block overseas investment in Thai agricultural land, especially from the Middle East where food supplies were scarce, was next to impossible

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management issued Tuesday an announcement offering 765 hectares of state agricultural land under lease agreement for periods varying between 15 and 50 years.

"The reasons [Ukrainians] choose to lease [Landkom] their land has nothing to do with money - it is an emotional desire to see their region go forward, that's all," says Paul Spinks.