Brazil reconsiders land ban for foreigners to boost investment

Brazil is looking at easing restrictions on the acquisition of land by foreigners to boost investment in agriculture and forestry as Latin America's biggest economy heads toward its worst year since at least 1992.

An effective prohibition on selling land to foreign individuals and companies has been in place since 2010 when Brazil's attorney general published a narrow interpretation of a 1971 law meant to defend the country's sovereignty. Katia Abreu, Brazil's first female agriculture minister and outspoken defender of agribusiness, said Monday that the restriction limits investment and needs to be revisited.

"We need to find a middle ground so that investing in Brazilian land is permitted," Abreu said. "We're working so this rule can once again be modified. Not so that it goes back to how it was in the past, but so it won't be totally prohibited."