The Department of Special Investigation will launch an inquiry into four Thai companies in Ayutthaya which own rice-farm plots of almost 10,000 rai. Transnational business consortiums are said to be buying the land through Thai nominees, which is against the law.
Lao Minister of Industry and Commerce confirms that his government is in negotiations with Thailand to join a rice land deal with Kuwait.
The congress will look at one of the key trends in world rice and other food production, including the "off-shoring" of farm production by several influential countries, including China, South Korea and Japan, he said.
President Museveni on February 23 wrote to Finance Minister Syda Bbumba advising against allowing foreigners to buy large chunks of land in Uganda in order to grow food.
"It appears that offering our lands to foreign investors has always figured in the official agenda of Arroyo’s numerous state visits to other countries since assuming office, presumably in line with her "2 million hectares agribusiness development program," Anakpawis party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano of the Philippines said
Ginbot 7 unequivocally believes that Ethiopian sovereignty trumps contractual obligations.
Hassad Food's priority in business partnership and export will be given to Arabic and Islamic countries. “A big project will be launched in the near future between Qatar and Sudan. The budget is open as no minimum or maximum limit has been considered so it will be a big project.”
“We are looking for opportunities where we can work with partners owning or running farmlands and having expansion plans. We do not want to take away the land of the poor,” the chairman of Hassad Food says.
Congo Republic wants to amend the terms of a multi-million hectare land deal with South African farmers, a top aide told Reuters on Wednesday, saying the current accord would deprive its own farmers of land.
The Government of Thailand has uncovered evidence suggesting foreigners could have obtained illegal ownership of about 10,000 rai (1,600 ha) of farmland in the central region and employed farmers to grow crops there.
Egypt's Beltone Private Equity and Sudan's Kenana Sugar Company have agreed to set up a firm to invest up to $1 billion in large-scale agriculture projects in both countries, Beltone said in a statement on Wednesday.
Hancock Agricultural Investment Group, a Boston-based unit of Toronto's Manulife Financial Corp., decided its first Canadian purchase would be an 1,100-acre (450-hectare) patch of land that it called "one of the most highly productive properties in the industry." The company will not disclose how much it paid, or even the exact location of the farm. But president Jeff Conrad said the company is in Canada to stay, and the fund plans to seek more land.
