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domestic interests to invest in their districts or provinces. 45 The argument that there is plenty
of land for everyone is often based on the misuse of data about population and land area. It
also derives from a misunderstanding of the land tenure systems (both formal and customary)
and the way in which they affect land availability.
The appearance of abundance is complicated by the existence of vast, seemingly
unoccupied areas in some parts of the country. This appearance belies the actual availability
of land. In many of these areas the "open" land is, in fact, held under the customary system
of tenure. 46 Other potentially productive land is vacant because smallholders fear or expect
the return of former colonial-era landholders. Still other areas are vacant because the land is
good only for grazing or is unsuitable for agriculture.
Mozambique has a little fewer than 80 million hectares of land and a total population of
approximately 16.5 million people (UNHCR 1993). According to these figures, every man,
woman, and child should have access to 4.84 hectares of land. However, it is estimated that
only 18 million hectares are suitable for agriculture. 47 Even using this figure, some argue
that every Mozambican should still be entitled to at least 1 hectare of land. However, this is
still a simplification of land availability in Mozambique and suggests an incomplete under-
standing of customary land-tenure regimes.
Part of the competition for land occurs because there is a limited amount of land that is
readily accessible and in proximity to other economic opportunities. Commercial and
smallholder farmers are attracted to the same areas—those that have physical infrastructure
(roads, wells, etc.), markets, transportation, and relatively good security. Few individuals
interviewed stated that they wanted to move to isolated rural areas far from infrastructure,
markets, transportation, security, and other amenities.
We do not suggest that land shortages exist in all areas of the country. In some regions
of Mozambique land is plentiful—or shortages are less acute—than in areas of high population
concentration and investment. In still other locations, land is relatively abundant but
inaccessible or located in areas that are economically inviable or useless. While commercial
investment in the agricultural sector is important and should be encouraged, the fact remains
that there are land shortages in many areas of the country. These shortages are, to some
extent, created and exacerbated by the formal land-tenure system.
Although we lack definitive demographic data, the rural population appears to be
concentrated in several areas, many of which are within 5 kilometers of the coast (map 2).
Most of these sites are also areas of great capital investment. They include the most
productive agricultural land in the country, including land situated along the Beira corridor,
land in the Zambezi Valley, land along the Limpopo River, agricultural land in Maputo
45. See, for example, Domingo (1993); Provincial Director of Agriculture, Tete Province, personal
communication, March 1993.
46. It may not all be farmed at the same time, for some is held in fallow and other parts are held for future
family expansion. At the same time, fallow land may be used for grazing or other agricultural purposes.
47. Ad Hoc Land Commission, Ministry of Agriculture, Maputo (1992); World Bank 1990.