Analysts say Moscow's plan, which would attract international commodity firms, might require a more open approach to investment in land

African nations are becoming more cautious in selling farmland to foreign investors, with governments paying closer attention to deals that could lead to social unrest, AGRA says

What we are witnessing in countries like Ethiopia today is an extreme form of the banana republic syndrome.

A multi-million birr investment project by Karuturi Global Limited, an Indian company in Etang Special Woreda of Gambella State was launched on Saturday.

A number of Gulf states have expressed interest in livestock and rice farming in Thailand to secure food supplies, a Thai official said on Monday. "The countries involved could be Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar or the UAE," he added.

It is not clear whether a strategy is in place to ensure that part of the food produced by the rich food importers farms will be sold locally.

The government said on Sunday that a draft agreement with the private sector on the stalled Jordanian agricultural megaproject in Sudan is being finalised in order to be sent to the Cabinet for approval.v

It is clear that the proposed solutions by corporate interests are based on acquiring large tracts of land and cheap labour for industrial scale production, serving to maintain the lifestyle of societies of over-consumption thereby exacerbating the crises both in the North and the South.

The next six to 12 months may be the best time in five years to buy a dairy farm or a share in one, according to investment company MyFarm in New Zealand. The global recession has not changed anything.

Russia and other ex-Soviet countries could boost world food supply by encouraging more private investment, the head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Saturday.

International executives urged Russia to maximise its potential by encouraging more private investment and opening up more land to foreign investors.

The Qatari land deal in Kenya’s Tana River Delta has been seized upon by locals who have promised to fight it – to the death, if it comes to that.