Argentina's Congress is gearing up for a debate on a bill to limit the amount of farmland foreigners can buy, amid a surge of interest in land deals triggered by rising food prices.

When it comes to famine in Africa, China seems an easy target for critics of its rising outbound investments.

Victims of land disputes nationwide are being encouraged to unite, as figures released yesterday highlighted the magnitude of what is often referred to as an “epidemic of land grabbing” in Cambodia.

Farmers have urged the state government to establish a register that would list Victorian farms that have been bought by foreign owners. The call comes as concerns grow over the level of foreign ownership of Australian farms and over the control of productive food resources.

The Committee on World Food Security at its meeting of October 2010 requested the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition to conduct a study on land tenure and international investments in agriculture and to present the findings at its next session in October 2011

PPF entry into Russian farming via Rav Agro-Pro acquisition affirms Czech billionaire Petr Kellner’s confidence in his position there

Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives shadow minister Meshack Opurukwa has questioned a contract between the government of Tanzania and a US-based firm – Agrisol Energy – in which the latter is to acquire huge chunks of land in Rukwa region to produce food crops.

Not only collecting sweet potatoes in Vietnam, Chinese have also been coming to Vietnam, leasing land to grow sweet potatoes to export to third countries.

New Zealand’s relative isolation and high-priced property means the nation has missed out on a global grab for land, especially farms, despite rising public disquiet about such sales, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research says.

Overseas buyers may boost investment in agriculture assets in Australia, the fourth-biggest shipper of wheat, as they seek to secure supply to meet surging food demand, said Queensland Sugar Ltd. Chairman Alan Winney.

Romanian officials have started to express worries about an increasing number of foreign companies buying agricultural land in Romania.

"Ultimately, we want to see more, not less, investment in Australian agriculture for the benefit of our industry, but we need to be very clear about the motives," says Jock Laurie, head of Australia's National Farmers Federation

"You get a clash of sovereignties. You might take an individual to court or a corporation to court. But I think you'll be very concerned if you take a country to court especially when that country is far bigger than the one you live in," Australian Senator Joyce said.

Minister of Agriculture says Chinese government controlled company's acquisition of some of the Australia's richest food growing areas is too great a risk for the nation.

The buy-up of prime agricultural land by Shenhua has sparked a furious political debate in Australia

Local stock and station agents in Western District Australia estimate the Qatar government paid a premium of up to 20 per cent in order to secure the controversial deal,

Government-backed companies, as Hassad Food, have begun buying up farmland around the world, with Australia’s vast tracts of top quality primary production land a prime target.

Southeast Asian palm oil firms like Malaysia's Sime Darby and Singapore's Golden Agri Resources are backpacking to Africa, in what could be the planet’s next trend-setter in inter-continental resource trade.

The Australian Parliament has moved to quell some of the anxieties surrounding a perceived foreign buy-up of local land, last week passing a motion regarding foreign ownership of agricultural land and agribusiness.

Foreign ownership of Australian land and agribusiness will soon be monitored.

President Jose Mujica said that private land sales will be honoured but under no conditions will sovereign funds or foreign countries be allowed to purchase land in Uruguay as is happening in Africa.

World food security fears may be driving the foreign rush to buy Australian farmland and agribusinesses, says Nationals' leader, Warren Truss.

The Republic of Congo has handed over 80,000 ha of arable land to a company owned and operated by 14 South African farmers.

Parliament is calling on the Productivity Commission to review the recent surge in foreign investment in farming, focusing on its effects on the economy and food security.

Investors are buying Canadian agricultural land, betting that rising food prices, a ballooning global population and growing worldwide scarcities in farmland will mean a payoff for them.

David Murrin, CIO at Emergent Asset Management, stresses the difficulties of jumping aboard the African growth story. "It is very hard to take advantage of the tremendous growth in African agriculture and that's why private equity investment is so important, it helps capture some of that growth," he says.

Foreign investment in Australia's food chain is increasing at a rate that is causing concern, and not just for people on the land.

In Ethiopia, resentments over land grab have already started claiming lives. The TPLF regime has already killed 10 protesting ethnic Anuak farmers and has sent thousands more to concentration camps.

Finding suitable farmland investment vehicles is not as easy as one might think.

The seizing of the poor farmers' land is destroying their only hope of survival on earth.