SLC Agricola strengthened its grip on the Brazilian farming frontier of Mapitoba with its third land purchase in less than four months, taking its total land holdings to an area nearly as big as Samoa.

The farm operator paid R$67.0m ($36.1m) for 19,880 hectares of undeveloped farmland in Bahia, in north east Brazil, taking its landbank of owned land above 277,000 hectares.

The acquisition, which comes amid a rash of agribusiness deals this week, follows SLC Agricola's purchases of land in September and October in the neighbouring state of Piaui.

Indeed, the company, which counts investment giant Blackrock and hedge fund supremo Crispin Odey among its main shareholders, now has more than two-thirds of its holdings in the so-called "Mapitoba" states viewed as a key agricultural frontier.

Farming frontier

Mapitoba is viewed as something of an agricultural frontier, having missed out on much of the initial wave of investment which poured into states such as Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais, with its relatively poor infrastructure proving a deterrent to buyers.

Brazil's farm ministry, Mapa, has estimated that Mapitoba has some 20m hectares of farmland available, an area twice the size of Hungary or Portugal, according to crop consultant Kory Melby.

However, the extent of land available is reflected in lower land prices. SLC paid an average of R$3,370 ($1,818) a hectare for its latest acquisition, cheaper even than the $3,660 paid in October for 12,900 hectares in Piaui.

The September purchase in Piaui, of 13,800 hectares, worked out at nearly R$5,000 a hectare, although this included some developed land and infrastructure, such as grain silos.

More expensive elsewhere

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in May valued SLC Agricola farms at an average of R$7,875 a hectare, with one, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, pegged at R$15,700 a hectare, equivalent to nearly $8,500 a hectare at current exchange rates.