The scariest aspect of this unfolding phenomenon is that despite the foreseeable terrible consequences, the appetite among the rich countries to own a piece of this developing-country fertile land continues to grow, turning to an ugly competition.

New data set documens 416 recent, large-scale land grabs by foreign investors for the production of food crops, covering nearly 35 million hectares of land in 66 countries.

Aucun aménagement à la marge de ces politiques ne saurait contenir la rapacité des investisseurs, publics ou privés : c’est la logique néolibérale qui les sous-tend qu’il faut combattre, au moyen de mobilisations populaires

Unfortunately, given the global nature of capital, even if the US were to completely shut down speculation, it would just move offshore.

Fear of unrest and hunger for profit are sparking massive acquisitions of farmland.

African farmers do need investment and support. They desperately need decent roads and access to local markets, processing equipment to add value to their own diverse farm produce, storage and drying facilities to prevent post-harvest losses, and basic amenities such as schools and health centres and water wells to improve rural lives, so that farming communities can thrive. But foreign investors are not in business to provide any of these things.

That land is far more complex and valuable than plain dirt was one of the central themes of FC Business Intelligence’s “World Agriculture Investment USA” conference in Chicago on May 9-10, 2011. A report from AllAboutAlpha.

The world’s second-oldest profession–farming–is a hot investment

With the surge of corporate farms in Argentina and Brazil over the past two to three years, I thought it would be useful to compile a list of the biggest groups with a short description of each.

Investors are growing more bullish on U.S. farmland as softness in some sectors spurs increased competition for buying quality acres. Capital flow is increasing from overseas, in particular from Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Sous l’œil bienveillant de l’ONU, les grands noms de la finance s’accaparent des régions agricoles entières.

Agribusiness and global investors are scooping up farmland. Are corporate farmers the new colonialists? asks BusinessWeek

The fervour with which foreign commercial interests are forcing their agricultural 'solutions' on the African continent represents nothing more than an established endeavour to protect profits and access to resources.

Perhaps the UN’s hand-wringing is just sentimental. Deals will be done and the rush to buy land has begun in Europe, too.

"We are seeing a land grab bigger than anywhere else in the world, and it has attracted a mighty cast of characters," says Kingsmill Bond, chief strategist at Troika Dialog, a Moscow brokerage firm.

A British entrepreneur is leasing land from smallholders in an attempt to revive the breadbasket of the former Soviet Union

Landkom has leased 165,000 acres from thousands of landowners in Ukraine and will reap its first big harvest this year.