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The Political Economy of Large-Scale Agricultural Land Acquisitions: Implications for Food Security and Livelihoods/Employment Creation in Rural Mozambique

Author

Listed:
  • Ellen Aab¯

    (United Nations Development Program, Maputo, Mozambique)

  • Thomas Kring

    (United Nations Development Program, Maputo, Mozambique)

Abstract

This paper will provide a brief assessment of the impacts of investments on food security and rural livelihoods/ employment creation in Mozambique. Based on the lessons learned from the Mozambican experience the paper will discuss the potential role of large-scale land acquisitions in promoting food security and reducing poverty. The paper will also discuss some of the opportunity costs associated with large-scale farming and look at the alternative rural development strategies available to Mozambique, as well as other land-abundant African countries. The paper concludes that, despite some recorded positive impacts, the relatively high number of negative impacts from recent large-scale land acquisitions in Mozambique give cause for concern. The country`s demographic and sociopolitical characteristics suggest that a labor intensive rural development strategy may be more suitable than the attraction of large-scale investments in farmland.

Suggested Citation

  • Ellen Aab¯ & Thomas Kring, "undated". "The Political Economy of Large-Scale Agricultural Land Acquisitions: Implications for Food Security and Livelihoods/Employment Creation in Rural Mozambique," UNDP Africa Policy Notes 2012-004, United Nations Development Programme, Regional Bureau for Africa.
  • Handle: RePEc:rac:wpaper:2012-004
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    File URL: http://web.undp.org/africa/knowledge/WP-2012-004-Aabo-Kring-Mozambique.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Steven Glover & Sam Jones, 2016. "Can commercial farming promote rural dynamism in sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from Mozambique," WIDER Working Paper Series 120, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food Security; reducing poverty; land acquisitions; Mozambique;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • O2 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy
    • K00 - Law and Economics - - General - - - General (including Data Sources and Description)

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