Socio-Environmental Effects of Large-Scale Land Acquisition in Mozambique

The growing global demand for food, fibers, and biofuels and the consequently, increasing prices of agricultural products have made investments in agriculture a priority for some governments and corporations. Since 2008, about 50 million ha of arable land have been purchased or leased worldwide, with an alarming and unprecedented increase in the number of land negotiations. When land acquisitions occur disregarding the rights of former land users and the socio-environmental impacts of these investments, they are often termed “land grabs.” Not only do large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) entail the purchase of fertile land but also the appropriation of land-based resources, such as water, with potential effects on the local population and the environment. Recently, a number of studies and reports have documented the process of LSLAs, while the associated effects on land and water resource availability to local communities have remained poorly investigated. Here, we develop an in-depth analysis of each land deal from the standpoint of land fertility, water scarcity, distance from roads, rivers, and villages. We focus on the case of Mozambique, a country affected by intense large-scale land acquisition, malnourishment, and demographic growth. Results show that, presently, LSLA in Mozambique covers an area of about 2 million hectares that account for roughly 30% of the currently cultivated land. Water resources appropriated through LSLAs are estimated around 39 billion m3 y−1, including 31 billion m3 y−1 for rainfed agriculture (green water) and a potential use of 8 billion m3 y−1 of water for irrigation (blue water), which corresponds to about 8 times the blue water currently used for agriculture across the country. The majority of land deals (29 out of 51) target fertile land and/or land with easy access to water resources and infrastructures.