The Numbers

A Resistência Mora Aqui

1/3

of the population suffers from food insecurity





38

agriculture companies in Nacala Corridor

The 2008 food crisis led many companies to relocate to African, Asian and Latin American countries in search of productive land and cheap labour. The Mozambican government supports them, arguing that these investments help to create jobs, to put an end to hunger and improve nutrition in a country where a third of the population suffers from food insecurity.

However, 90% of the food consumed in the country is produced by peasant farmers and small-scale farmers; together, these two groups represent 80% of the population.

In the last decade, at least 38 companies - mainly linked to large-scale agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry - have settled in the Nacala Corridor, one of the most populated and fertile regions of Mozambique. The Government has granted these companies the Right to Use and Benefit from the Land ( DUAT, by its Portuguese initials) for 1.4 million hectares.








90%

of the food is produced by small-scale farmers



1.4

million hectares of DUAT

America

3

United States of America

Europe

7

Portugal

4

United Kingdom

2

Norway

1

Germany

1

Spain

1

Estonia

1

Netherlands

1

Italy

Africa

7

Mozambique

5

South Africa

1

Mauritius

Asia

2

India

1

Singapore

1

United Arab Emirates




1

million hectares

It is estimated that thousands of people were forced to leave their homes and the lands that they farmed.

Vale do Rio Lúrio, Green Resources and Portucel Mozambique collectively hold the largest proportion of the land where DUAT is granted. These three companies alone control about 1 million hectares, 67% of the total land occupied by companies in the region.

European companies occupy, in total, over double the number of hectares claimed by Mozambican investment.





67%

total land occupied by companies in the region



mapabase

know the program


In the last decade, more than 70% of large-scale agricultural land acquisitions were carried out in Sub-Saharan Africa. Propelled by this trend, and under the guise of improving nutrition in this region, the eight richest countries of the world promoted public-private partnerships between many African States and multinationals in the agrarian sector. The programme is called the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa (NAFSN) and was approved in 2012.

70%

of large-scale agricultural land acquisitions were carried out in Sub-Saharan Africa


read the report

The report written in May 2016, by an independent European Union expert reinforces these opinions and questions the good intentions of the NAFSN.

“The agreed policies in host countries are meant to create a business-friendly environment through reforms of infrastructure, tax, land or trade policies; easier access to ‘idle’ land for long-term lease (...).”

“Smallholders were barely consulted in the creation of the CCFs [Country Cooperation Frameworks] although they are supposed to be the ultimate beneficiaries of NAFSN.”

“[NAFSN risks] facilitating land grabs, to further marginalise small-scale producers and women, while supporting unsustainable farming.”

“[...] NAFSN barely gives a voice to producers organisations and local groups. Mega-PPPs [Public-Private Partnerships] are inherently risky in Sub-Saharan African countries −where governance is often poor− and provide opportunities for corruption.”

“NAFSN aims to replicate in Africa the model of the 1960s/1970s Asian “Green Revolution”, based on monoculture, mechanisation, biotechnology, dependence on fertilisers, long distribution channels and the production of export crops.” The limits of this approach are well known, particularly the associated environmental risks.”

Six years after this alliance, many peasants complain of having been forced to abandon their houses and plots due to their strategic location, next to routes that allow for an easy outflow of crops. They say they are now poorer, with less access to a varied diet.





The data above were collected by the NGDO Grain in 2016 and include companies with DUATs equal to or over 3,000 hectares, issued during or after 2008, in the provinces crossed by the Nacala Corridor (Cabo Delgado, Niassa, Nampula, Zambézia and Tete).