Only a short time ago, African farmland seemed of little interest to outsiders. But last year's food crisis and water scarcity in many countries has changed foreigners' appetite with the result being that fertile soil in Africa is now sought by international investors to the tune of hundreds of thousands of hectares.

The first big report on the trend - branded by some as " farmland grab ", but seen by others as a huge development opportunity - concludes that food security, rather than commercial enterprise, is behind most of the deals sealed or negotiated. "Governments concerned about stability of food supplies are promoting acquisition of farmland in foreign countries as an alternative to purchasing food from international markets," the report says. "The food price hikes of 2007 and 2008 shook the assumption that the world will continue to experience low food prices ."