67
LOMACO-1 and LOMACO-2, respectively, on map 8). The two parcels represent at least
3,830 hectares of prime irrigated land. 127
Some farmers interviewed said that they once had land in the area where LOMACO-1 is
located. They state that they lost their rights many years ago when the state took control of
the irrigation scheme following independence. Some of these farmers tried at some point to
reoccupy their land but were forced to leave again once the joint venture began operations.
The land designated as LOMACO-2 was identified by many smallholders interviewed as
a problem area. Several remarked that they were told by government officials and LOMACO
management that they had to leave before the company started operations on this parcel.
Many of these families had houses and trees as well as fields in the area. They report that
when they refused to leave, they were "chased off" by LOMACO and their houses were
destroyed. Some stated that LOMACO cut down their trees to lay irrigation tubes. Although
these farmers say they were told that they would receive compensation from either the
government or the company, it is unclear who told them this. To date, the farmers say, they
have obtained neither new land nor compensation from either the government or the
company; a formal protest was filed with the district government last year. 128
As a result, tension is high in the smallholder community, particularly in the LOMACO-2
area. Smallholders blame both the government and the company for again displacing them
from their lands. Many expressed anger and said that they blamed the government
administration for permitting LOMACO to take their lands. Two other farmers declared that
they want revenge on the company for appropriating their lands and houses. Peasants who
still live in the communal villages fear that LOMACO will soon take all of the land in the
lowlands—property that they previously held and to which they still claim rights.
Joâo Ferreira dos Santos (JFS), a large private commercial company, Iiasalsomovedinto
the zone between the road and the river, northwest of LOMACO's holdings; however, we
have little information about this operation. While all of the smallholders interviewed thought
negatively of—or had negative experience with—LOMACO, none of the smallholders
127. These data are from the Land Registry, Provincial Office of DINAGECA, Xai-Xai, Gaza Province.
The registrar reports that LOMACO controls over 3,830 hectares in Macarnetane and an additional 1,808
hectares in Chilembene. Provincial sources also report that JFS has rights to approximately 2,000 hectares, while
SEMOC has 2,500 hectares in the irrigation scheme. Throughout the country, LOMACO has rights to
approximately 500,000 hectares of land for agriculture and forestry. The company also has monopolistic rights
in several areas covering more than 1 million hectares of smallholder farms (see Myers, West, and Eliseu 1993).
It is difficult to determine exactly how much land these companies have or where their holdings are located, for
they are extremely secretive—despite the fact that all three are involved in joint-venture operations with the
Government of Mozambique.
128. At the recent Second National Land Conference in Maputo (25-27 May 1994), Carlos Enriques,
General Director of LOMACO, disputed these claims, saying, "LOMACO is not the enemy of the peasants as
portrayed by the Land Tenure Center in its publications." Smallholder farmers responded, "We are not lying;
LOMACO took our land and it takes all the water [from the irrigation canals]." See Weiss and Myers (1994);
and Myers and Weiss (1994).