Everyone wants a piece of Africa. Tehelka did a report a year ago on an Indian company, which claims to be the world's largest rose grower.

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main46.asp?filename=Bu250910Ethiopians.asp

Reportedly, they plan to peacefully grow 500,000 hectares of delicious roses to feed the Ethiopians & have an offer for 3 million hectares. There a long list of Indian companies, which want to grow the nectar called Biofuels.

It's been a pretty hot stock on Bombay Stock Exchange, offering 9.7% in the last 12 months.

I also saw a documentary on French TV, of how a medium-scale Indian company was actually growing vegetables, but the local workers did not get to take home any of it.

Indians too colonize, but it's all in good-vegetarian-karmic faith.

Trans: if it's all done legally and with the agreement of the land owners, then it's a good thing innit? It brings in more money and infrestructure, no?

Several countries are either resorting to renting or buying in other places (Africa, Brazil, etc) to yield crops.

For those who speak French and are interested there was a really interesting documentary on the subject on the Swiss channel TSR1 

http://www.tsr.ch/video/emissions/geopolitis/2872814-accaparement-des-terres-agricoles-peut-on-acheter-un-pays.html#id=2872814;nav=emissions/geopolitis/?page=2

Egypt would have rented 2.1 million acres in Uganda, Sudan 3.7 million acres in several countries for a period of 99 years, Libya would have bought 247'000 acres in Mali, etc.

The documentary highlights that the advantages and profits coming out of this do not go to the locals but are mostly going into the pockets of politicians and investors.