Harvard, Vanderbilt and other major American universities are working through British hedge funds and European financial speculators to buy or lease vast areas of African farmland in deals, some of which may force many

thousands of people off their land, according to a new study.

Researchers say foreign investors are profiting from "land grabs" that

often fail to deliver the promised benefits of jobs and economic

development, and can lead to environmental and social problems in the

poorest countries in the world.

Much of the money is said to be channelled through London-based Emergent asset management, which runs one of Africa's

largest land acquisition funds, run by former JP Morgan and Goldman

Sachs currency dealers.