109
Smallholders spoke of numerous land conflicts between local residents claiming historical
rights (and some displaced families) and returning refugees. The problem stems from
overlapping land rights in the area. The major conflicts seem to be between returning
refugees, many of whom have historical rights in the area, and residents of the village, that
is, between local smallholders and those who received land in the villagization program. Both
groups claim rights to the same land. While some returning refugees are using the village as
a stopping place on their way to other locations (e.g., one farmer said he would remain in
the area for one season before moving north of the corridor), others are returning home to
Almada to claim land that had belonged to them before the villagization program and the war.
Still other returning refugees are insisting that this land was given to them by the govern-
ment. 248 Th'ese disputes are heard both by local government officials and by customary
authorities.
Fewer land conflicts involve displaced people, for this category appears to have the
weakest rights of all smallholders in Almada. When a family returns and its land is occupied,
it usually abandons the plot and moves to an unused parcel. Local officials also asserted that
nonlocal private interests were trying to acquire land between the main road (E. N. 6) and the
river (see areas marked "A" and "B" on map 17). If the concession is approved, land
shortages will certainly increase for all farmers living in Almada. The first effect most likely
will be forcing displaced farmers away from the area.
4. CONCERNS RAISED BY CASES IN SOFALA AND MANICA
There continues to be a lack of understanding in both Sofala and Manica provinces about
smallholder intentions and actions for postwar reintegration. Provincial and district officials
are unaware of—and largely unconcerned about—the movement of smallholders. In general,
they still believe that smallholders will leave the centers and return to their areas of origin.
The fact that this has not happened on a large scale does not seem to have changed their
i mpressions or policies. 250 At the same time, government officials in both provinces appear
to deny that any of these smallholders have legitimate and historical claims to land in the
corridor. Locality administrators, who are better informed, often are not consulted and find
themselves in delicate positions with their respective communities when provincial and district
authorities distribute land. Given that displaced smallholders are not moving from these
centers and that many villages are experiencing population increases as refugees return and
others self-displace to the corridor, local communities will face greater challenges with land
distribution and resource allocation than anticipated. These difficulties will continue for
several years to come.
248. Interviews with smallholder farmers, Almada communal village, August 1993.
249. Smallholders may approach government officials if they think such action will advance their position
in land disputes. Families who were given land as part of the villagization scheme, particularly, may seek
government officials in a dispute rather than local customary authorities. This is another indication of the
tensions that exist within local communities as a result of both war and government land policy.
250. This was apparent in the debate at the Second National Land Conference in Mozambique. For a few
references to this discussion, see Weiss and Myers (1994); and Myers and Weiss (1994).