ABSTRACT
International investors have acquired farm land abroad with increasing speed over recent years, the trend being furthered by the food price crisis in 2007–08. Other factors contributing to an increased interest in extension of agricultural production include the tightening of market constraints in Asia, and increased demand for food due to population growth and rising income leading to a change in diet as well as improved business climate in many countries of the South. Several research teams have attempted to trace the current new wave of large-scale acquisitions of farmland abroad (von Braun and Meinzen-Dick 2009; Cotula et al. 2009; Deininger et al. 2010; Anseeuw et al. 2012). Owing to lack of transparency within the process of land deals or available information from recipient governments, access to reliable and comprehensive data remains a major issue of concern. Consequently, the analyses of country-level trends and patterns of large-scale investments are scarce.
