Tokyo is now preparing to expand Official development assistance to support agricultural technology innovations and improve social infrastructure in such areas, which in turn could help activate private agricultural investment

Abdulaye Wade says there is nothing wrong with leasing land: Saudi Arabia is already in Senegal and China is close to a deal with farmers' groups to use 100,000 ha for growing peanuts.

In Benin, the race to buy land is on! States, corporations, multinationals and investment funds are hungry for farmland.

Cambodia is experiencing what's been called an epidemic of land grabbing. Huge tracts of the country have been granted to private companies for large scale agriculture or other purposes.

"We don't know enough yet in practice to formulate a very strong code of conduct," David Hallam, of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, told Reuters.

The boom in the acquisition of arable land in Africa by foreign companies and governments has stirred an international debate between international institutions such as the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and non-governmental groups and independent experts.

Japan's proposal to set up a set of common guidelines to promote smooth global investment in agriculture was endorsed by other leaders of the G8

IFAD is supporting a pilot initiative to promote properly structured ("win-win") agricultural land deals in Ghana.

A focus on agricultural productivity should not become a cover for foreign private companies to grab land or impose expensive, input-intensive methods in the name of modernisation.

The best practice proposal was criticised by development charity ActionAid UK. "The G8 plan to simply start discussing the topic is insufficient."

Lester Brown, the president of the Washington-based Earth Policy Institute, says even if the investor comes in wielding impressive, shiny new technology, it will be of little benefit to the small farm holder.

After having invested over 300 million euros for the acquisition of agricultural land alone, and another dozens of millions were invested in food industry, now Danish investors see a new opportunity on Romania’s market, namely the development of renewable energy parks