January 2014: In its January newsletter, the Land Matrix highlights its success in raising awareness of large-scale land acquisitions and describes approaches to use its data for improved decision-making.

The bulletin stresses the central importance of the land matrix database, which holds over 1,200 entries, and the emerging role of global and regional observatories in contributing to this data. The newsletter describes the process for bringing additional depth to the database and opening space for dialogue. It notes the continued increase in the number of land deals, but a general decrease in their size. It also highlights that seven of the top ten countries for land acquisition projects are in Africa, with agriculture being the principle driver of such acquisitions. [Land Matrix Newsletter: January 2014]