Half of the new kind of land deals take place in Africa, Oxfam says The deals amount to a total area the size of Germany and half of these deals, Oxfam says, are in Africa.
It lists the effects of such deals on populations in Uganda, South Sudan, Indonesia, Honduras and Guatemala.
'Frenetic competition'
The organisation's Chief Executive, Barbara Stocking, said the "blinkered scramble" for land by investors was ignoring the needs of those who live on the land and depend upon it for their survival.
"Many of the world's poorest people are being left worse off by the unprecedented pace of land deals and the frenetic competition for land."
Oxfam says that among the worst affected by these so-called land grabs are women, who despite producing up to 80% of food in some poor countries, are often more vulnerable as they have weaker land rights.
"Investors, no matter how noble they pertain to be, cannot sweep aside the needs and rights of poor communities who depend on the land they profit from," she said.
The organisation said that land grabs had accelerated especially since 2008, when soaring prices highlighted the issue of food security.
It said an increasing demand for food, combined with climate change and the increase of agricultural land being used to grow biofuels, meant that the number of such deals would be likely to only rise in the future.
It called on the EU to scrap its target of obtaining 10% transport fuels from renewable sources by 2020 - which has fuelled the planting of crops for biofuels - and asked investors and governments to implement policies to ensure land deals are fair and those affected are properly consulted.
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