Since 2004, 6.2 million acres of African farmland has been leased or bought by foreign nations according to Reuters. Government agencies have emphasized it is time for rules to be put in place to make these deals fairer for the countries that are losing the land. Currently, it’s a free for all on "land grabs".

There is a concern that a code of conduct needs to be created by African Governments so their country’s farmland is sold or leased at a fair price and term. In order to have better "food security", many Asian and Gulf countries have been buying or leasing farmland in Africa where millions survive on subsistence farming.

Marilou Uy, sector director of the World Bank’s African and Private Sector Development Department, said "African states would need to set up rules to govern farm land purchases to protect themselves from possible exploitation."

What’s the affect on global farmland?

If a code of conduct needs to be created by countries that are suffering from these popular land grabs, then obviously there is a great concern for the supply of global farmland.

Countries like China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and United Arab Emirates have been buying up farmland like crazy because they have done their research and come to the conclusion that the supply of farmland is decreasing at an alarming rate. In order for the developing nations to ensure their "food security," they must acquire more land.

The International Food Policy estimates that 15 to 20 million hectares have been acquired across the globe since 2006, which is equivalent to the size of France’s agricultural land.

When the supply of anything decreases, the price will rise. It can be thought like the famous Enzo Ferrari sports car. Only 400 were made and every time one crashes, the value of the survivors increase. The same goes for farmland, more and more is disappearing, and now action being taken so people don’t grab up all the leftovers.

- Colvin