US, UAE firms eye Zambian farming land

Companies from the United States and the United Arab Emirates are interested in establishing large farms in Zambia to grow sugar and grains, the southern African country's agriculture minister said on Friday.

Although a growing number of such land investments elsewhere have proved controversial, Agriculture Minister Brian Chituwo told Reuters Zambia had so much land available there would not be opposition.

He said a U.S. company had offered to invest as much as $200 million in sugar cane production to make ethanol, involving small-scale farmers, but was waiting for proper policies to be put in place.