A number of conditions should be fulfilled to avoid unwanted outcomes from foreign land investments (as defined in a voluntary guideline, see FAO, 2012). In particular, there should be transparency in negotiations, deals should respect existing land and water rights, the benefits of the transaction should be shared with local communities, and the deals should be subject to a careful impact assessment to ensure their environmental sustainability (von Braun and Meinzen-Dick, 2009). Third party organisations, governments or international organisations could help support this goal by providing an external view.