The Korea Rural Community Corporation, under the Agriculture Ministry, said it is also in talks with other resource-rich countries about deals in exchange for support for the construction of agricultural infrastructure or farms. Among the negotiating partners mentioned were Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Senegal and Mongolia.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the government to seriously reconsider its plan to sell land to Saudi Arabia and other foreign investors, taking into account the welfare of hundreds of thousands of peasants whose livelihood will be directly affected.

"This land [100,000 ha] is not meant to be leased to the Koreans as such, but a mechanism will be worked out on how the land must be processed," said a spokesperson for Tanzania's prime minister.

South Korea will develop 100,000 ha of farmland in Tanzania to make inroads into African and European markets, a state-run rural development corporation said Thursday.

The 'Food Pirates' are fast expanding their network, their reach and their control over land. And it is happening fast in our own neighbourhood, writes Devinder Sharma.

L'apparition du « Land Grabbing » que les chinois accélèrent à travers le continent s'inscrit-il dans la perpétuation de ces comportements des dirigeants africains comme sous la coupole occidentale, sachant qu'ils ne sont tenus par aucun passif colonial avec le géant de l'empire du milieu ?

Depending on the way they are structured, these investments can either create new opportunities to improve local living standards or further marginalise the poor, writes IIED

Avec la suspension de l'acquisition foncière aux étrangers, une nouvelle disposition vient d'être adoptée par le gouvernement. Les investisseurs étrangers disposent désormais d'un bail emphytéotique dont la durée vient d'être écourtée pour effectuer leurs projets.

En plein coeur des Terres noires russes, une moissonneuse-batteuse dernier cri émerge d'un champ de tournesols grillés par le soleil, sous l'oeil satisfait d'Alexandre Averianov, employé de la holding suédoise Black Earth Farming (BEF).

The model of owning farmland and operating it suits long-term, low-risk investors, with most investments so far being from institutions. The downside is that farmland investments provide little chance of a quick exit, unlike more liquid holdings.

Bangkok was wary of GCC efforts to ensure its food supplies by purchasing rice growing lands, and now political instability is chilling the investment climate. Tom Spender reports

“We expect this impending land-lease deal with Saudi Arabia, courtesy of global land-grabbing’s No. 1 puppet in Asia, to displace thousands of farmers and agricultural workers. Ms Arroyo is selling out the country’s national patrimony under the guise of multi-million dollar investment packages,” Anakpawis party-list Representative Rafael Mariano said.