Countries that can afford to do so are increasingly leasing farmland in strong agricultural areas as insurance against high food prices. One pending agreement would see Libya lease 247,000 acres of Ukraine farmland to grow wheat. And last month, a South Korean company, Daewoo Logistics, signed a 99-year lease on 3.2 million acres of land in Madagascar, where it will produce corn and palm oil for shipment back home. China already farms over 100,000 acres of land in Australia, and is buying or leasing substantial acreage in the Philippines, Laos, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Cameroon and Uganda.
However, some analysts have questioned the long-term security of such transactions, as future leaders of some countries might not abide by the terms of existing land deals once in power.
