Mozambique

This briefing by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) highlights how small- and mediumscale farm models can outperform large-scale operations in terms of monetary return, food security, employment generation, local prosperity and avoiding land conflicts. With the right support, poorer households can develop market-oriented farming that contributes to local value chains at many levels. »

This book provides a detailed explanation on optimizing fertilizer use within an Integrated Soil Fertility Management Framework in 13 African countries. The book shares the findings of the Optimizing Fertilizer Recommendations in Africa (OFRA) project. The last chapter elaborates on enabling fertilizer use optimization, and how to maximize potential profits of fertilizer use while taking the farmer’s context into account and keeping risks low. At the farm level enabling fertilizer use optimization is in early stages for most countries but considerable experience has been gained from Uganda, as well as Kenya and Tanzania. »

This discussion paper conducts cost-effectiveness analyses of interventions that bring a gender lens to community-based advisory services in rural areas. Cost-effectiveness analysis subjects both the cost side and the effects side of agricultural interventions to technical scrutiny and unifies both sides in order to compare the relative cost-effectiveness of different modalities of a program, of efforts to reach different target groups or achieve different outcomes. »

This working paper by UNU-WIDER, aims to bring evidence to the debate around the impact of large commercial farms on neighbouring smallholders in low-income sub-Saharan Africa. The findings point to significant heterogeneity in the local economic effects of commercial farms rather than any kind of automatic spillover effects. The implication is that a more nuanced policy position is demanded with respect to promoting rural dynamism through new commercial models. In particular, the creation of suitable incentives for and regulation of outgrower schemes needs to be a priority. »

This book presents case studies on changing agro-food systems in Southern Africa within the context of large-scale land-based and agri-business investments. By capturing the testimonies of local people in rural settings, with a particular focus on small-scale farmers, it aims to provide vivid accounts of the micro-level changes underway in agro-food systems in Southern Africa, and to reflect the experiences and perspectives of local people. »

This article argues that participatory land governance and consultation processes need follow-up mechanisms since new actors, claims and strategies emerge after consent has been reached. In the study area Massingir, Mozambique, foreign private and domestic investments in the agribusiness, tourism, and conservation sectors in the district have been on the rise. This resulted in events that scholars and activists have come to describe as land, water, and green grabs. »