The politics of agrofuels and mega-land and water deals: insights from the ProCana case, Mozambique (original) (raw)
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Land grabbing, agribusiness and the peasantry in Brazil and Mozambique
This article examines the expansion of agribusiness and the evolution of land grabbing in Brazil and Mozambique. The modernization of Brazil's agricultural sector, which began in the 1960s, successfully expanded into the cerrado region in the 1980s under the state-led PRODECER project. Modernization and state-led programmes such as PRODECER gave new rise to different forms and practices of land grabbing, creating spaces for investment by foreigners. Over the last three decades the production of soybeans in the cerrado has come under substantial foreign control and in recent years, sugarcane production and foreign investment in the ethanol industry has grown markedly in the region; the social and environmental effects of this have been devastating. In this article we will also examine the recent interest of Brazilian agribusinesses in investing in Mozambican land and in particular, the ProSAVANA programme modelled on PRODECER. We argue that while Brazil is subject to land grabbing by foreign capital, it has also become a promoter of land grabbing in Mozambique.
2011
The rapid increase in attempts by foreign investors to acquire large tracts of land in Africa for biofuel developments has generated substantial concern about their potential negative impact on the communities living in the targeted areas. This includes concerns about the impact on local residents' livelihoods, their access to land, natural resources and labour, and their food security. This paper examines three case studies of proposed biofuel developments in Mozambique and Sierra Leone in terms of their social displacement impacts and the extent to which such impacts can be avoided or minimised. The case studies show that even in areas with low population densities and settlements concentrated in villages where it is easier to minimise displacement impacts, livelihood displacement impacts still cannot be entirely avoided due to communal and scattered land use in most rural areas. Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) processes have changed the location, size and boundaries of developments to reduce displacement impacts, but more mitigation measures-such as outgrower schemes and land dedicated to food production-can provide further livelihood restitution and avoid food security impacts. The three biofuel ventures also highlight the influence of tenure security for local land right holders in determining the nature of the land deals and the consultation processes: cases where land leases are made with central government seem to provide fewer incentives for developers to negotiate directly with local communities and provide them with lower levels of compensation.
2013
Whether viewed as "land grabbing", "large scale land acquisition" or "agriculture investment for development", this trajectory has seen vast tracks of land being outsourced for non-food projects such as bio-fuel production. Majority of farmers who reside in the rural areas have their land earmarked for such projects (bio-fuel production) and resultantly they are left to swallow the bitter pill of the effects of large scale land deals. In most studies done in Africa commonly cited benefits of large scale farming such as employment or income generating opportunities to the local communities has fallen far short of expectations. Downsides have often stood in stark contrast to the reported and anticipated benefits of such land deals. The fieldwork for this study was carried out in Chisumbanje communal area, Zimbabwe in July 2013.The study seeks to explore how the introduction of large scale commercial farming by Green Fuel Company affected the community in every aspect of their lives ranging from loss of livelihood strategies, dispossession, displacement and loss of social and economic status. The research assessed the impact of the Chisumbanje large scale land acquisition on the community`s livelihood, examined the community`s perception and response towards the project. The methods used for collecting data were, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions with the locals who included men, women and the youths as well as the Observation method. The research answers the question: In what ways and to what extent has large scale land acquisition altered the livelihoods of the Chisumbanje community? In answering this, it adopted two of Bernstein's key questions in agrarian political economy "who owns what" and "who gets what". Analytical tools provided through Sustainable Rural Livelihoods framework and Scott's weapons of the weak theory were also applied. Empirical study of the Chisumbanje case shows that there are no convincing positive impacts for the locals, but only a long list of downsides. Relevance to Development Studies Large scale land acquisition is currently a subject of heated debate among development practitioners and researchers, national governments, international community and civil society organizations. This research assessed the politics surrounding large scale land acquisition and its impact on community livelihoods and rural development in Zimbabwe. The research is relevant to development studies mainly because land is essential to the lives of the rural poor people as it is a source of their livelihoods.
Land of Plenty, Land of Misery: Synergetic Resource Grabbing in Mozambique
Land, 2019
Global climate change policy enforcement has become the new driving force of resource grabbing in the context of the “scramble of resources” in Africa. Nevertheless, the environmental crisis should not be seen as an isolated phenomenon amid contemporary capitalism. On the contrary, a very distinct feature of the current wave of land grabs is the convergence of multiple crises, including food, energy/fuel, environmental, and financial. The Southern Mozambique District, Massingir, is an area with high potential regarding water sources and biodiversity. It recently became a host of a biofuel project, and also a huge block of land is being transformed into a conservation/tourism area; answering to many issues within capitalism’s crisis, this area is an evidence of how synergetic resource grabbing can arise as a response to the convergence of multiple crises. Therefore, by analyzing the emerging politics of natural resources in Massingir District and the dynamics regarding the land-use c...
Introduction: biofuels, food security and land grabbing in Africa
Biofuels, land grabbing and food security in Africa, 2011
In this context, the implication is that local people and producers have to contend not just with external, but also with domestic interests. The significance of the concept thus also needs to be seen in relation to the 'unsettled' character of the governance structures of African land ownership, and to control of and access to natural resources. As a result, the roles, legitimacy and stakes of different actors, including the state, are contested. Land grabbing in its wider sense thus relates to changing access to, and control, use and ownership of, African land and the products generated from it, including what happens to them on the domestic and export markets. The actual process by which land is 'grabbed' by foreigners ranges from outright 'illegal' acquisitions, based on secretive negotiations, to rapidly concluded binding contracts that, though legal, are characterized by a strong asymmetry in power relations, by risk taking and by limited access to information, particularly among the weaker stakeholders, who are potentially most affected by the deals. As a preamble, this chapter examines the complex aspects of biofuels, food security and land grabbing in Africa, as the continent competes for investments at a time of global economic recession. Peak oil and climate change have led to a resurgence of the search for alternative fuel, as well as to varying and competing discourses on climate change and on ways of mitigating it. This has generated fresh debates (and revived old ones) about the place and the role of Africa in international and global developments. The debates are expanding, as critics level the charge that 'rich countries are buying poor countries' soil fertility, water and sun to ship food and fuel back home, in a kind of neo-colonial dynamic' (Leahy 2009). Multiple pressures towards commercialization of land in Africa converge-both historical and current-and these need to be differentiated and contextualized in relation to the recent wave of land grabbing. The concession of large areas-often as part of wider agreements for investment in infrastructure, the provision of services and job creation, as part of economic growth and the 'development' of Africa-motivated the authors of this book to present an in-depth analysis based on current research and informed observations of what is happening in Africa. As we observe and seek to understand the features and mechanisms of land grabbing and the initiatives at the international level to develop voluntary guidelines to 'do it right', we gain fascinating insights as to how Africa and the African rural population and smallholders are perceived by investing countries, international institutions and even external research communities. Our opinion is that Africa requires investment in many areas (economic, infrastructure, institutional and social) for the benefit of its people. The key question is whether land grabbing and the associated agro-investments can contribute to the development of Africa in such a way that benefits its people, or whether it will lead to their further impoverishment.
The present study is concerned with the expansion of biofuel production and two revealing and contrasting impacts caused in Honduras. The biofuels complex emerges as a sustainable alternative to cope with pressing problems related to climate change, energy insecurity and environmental degradation. However such an argument becomes problematic as land expansion for biofuels entails land-use changes and limitations to land tenure and access to the rural poor. The latter is recently known as the phenomenon of land grabbing in developing countries. The problematic to tackle around these biofuels’ impacts is captured in two cases in Honduras. The first one, showing a case in which biofuel expansion has created political conflict, displacement and dispossession for rural communities and peasants struggling for land. On the other hand, another case shows a small-scale project that enhances sustainable development and socially inclusive results. The study compares the contrasting impacts based on empirical data from reports and studies about both cases. The aim is to understand the differences of both cases from a critique neoliberalism and a from a social sustainable development approach in order to analyse the reasons behind those differences. My argument draws on the assumption of an existent convergence of actors and approaches which are intrinsically materialized on the contrasting impacts. Therefore actors and approaches play key roles in those differentiated impacts. The study also reveals the emerging complexities around biofuels with key roles played by the state, governments and international organizations in developing countries.