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Researchers and development NGO’s warn of a disturbing trend that does not bode well for food sovereignty: the seizure of vast extensions of agricultural lands in the global South by emerging states and private investors.

GRAIN, a Europe-based non-governmental organization, maintains an online database of 416 major land grabs in 66 countries that cover a total of 35 million hectares. It shows that the lands of Mozambique, one of the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped countries, are targeted by investors from Brasil, China, India, Singapore, France, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, England and South Africa. And the most fertile lands of Ethiopia, a country that is sadly famous for its famines, are being seized by companies from another country famous for its famines: India. Indian companies such as Almidha, ARS Agrofoods, BHO, Chadha Agro, Karuturi, Neha, Rashtriya Kissan Sangathan, Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. and Sannati Agro, among others, are using Ethiopia’s finest farm lands to produce export crops, from soy, tomatoes and wheat, to rice, cotton and corn. Ethiopia has also received similar investments from the United States (B&D Food Corp.), Saudi Arabia (Al Amoudi), China, Egypt, Germany (Acazis AG), and the Netherlands (Africa Juice).

South America is also a major destination for the new land grabbers. The Argentina-based Cresud corporation has 142,000 hectares in Paraguay, where it produces mostly sunflower and soy. It also controls over 620,000 hectares in Brazil- mostly for soy and cattle- through its controlling stake in the Brasil Agro corporation.

In Peru there’s South Korea’s Ecoamerica, which has 72,000 hectares for the production of lumber and beef, and the US-based Maple Energy, which makes ethanol from sugar cane. In Uruguay, farm land is being grabbed by investors from Argentina, Denmark, France, United States (George Soros’ Adecoagro), and Singapore (Olam). And Colombia’s lands are the object of investments from Argentina, Brazil, China, Israel (Merhav Group), Spain (Grupo Poligrow), and the United States (Black River Asset Management).

One of the most surprising and little known aspects of this land grab phenomenon is the important participation of pension funds. Worldwide, pension funds manage $23 trillion dollars, of which $100 billion are believed to be invested in commodities, and of that, $5 to $15 billion goes into the purchase of farm land. This last figure is expected to double by 2015.