87
By July 1992, provincial and district officials were already distributing land (including
state farm land) to private commercial interests, government officials, and other well-
positioned elite.174 District authorities were distributing some parcels on a temporary basis
to smallholders in the district. In contrast to Gaza, Maputo, Manica, and Nampula provinces,
few data are available on land concessions in Sofala Province. However, we know that at
least 4,100 hectares were granted in Nhamatanda in 1992 and 1993. 175 The Lamego State
Agricultural Enterprise covered approximately 3,726 hectares. Consequently, it appears that
s1ec7to6r. the government is granting more land than was occupied by the state agricultural
In addition, it was reported by district officials that both private companies and individuals
have acquired or reassumed rights to land in the district, and that these transactions have not
yet been recorded. The larger enterprises reacquiring land include Mocambique Industrial,
SOA7LPO.17 Textafrica, and
Interviews conducted in 1992 revealed that provincial and district authorities, including
the DPA (Provincial Director of Agriculture) and the DDA (District Director of Agriculture)
in Nhamatanda, did not think there would be land shortages anywhere in the province or
district once the war was over. They said that the displaced families would return to their
areas of origin, alleviating any pressure on the land. At the same time, officials noted that
it was unnecessary for the province to reserve or distribute land for (family sector)
smallholders. Significantly, officials stated that smallholders were incapable of exploiting the
better land, much of which belonged to the state farm sector or the abandoned colonial farms,
because they lacked sufficient "capacity. " "s
In 1992, we were unable to penetrate the areas controlled by RENAMO north and south
of the corridor. However, we believed that those areas, particularly in Machanga, Muanza,
Gorongosa, Maringue, and Cheringoma districts, were relatively less populated and less likely
174. Provincial Director of Agriculture, Sofala Province, personal communication, July 1992; District
Director of Agriculture, Nhamatanda, personal communication, July 1992; Director, Lamego State Farm,
personal communication, July 1992. See Myers, West, and Eliseu (1993).
175. The central government reports in the Boletim daRepublica that 1,721 hectares were granted in
concessions in Nhamatanda District between 1991 and 1993. Field research conducted in Nhamatanda in 1992
revealed that 2,375 hectares were granted in concessions in the district in that year (see Myers, West, and Eliseu
1993). The concessions indicated by central government are not necessarily the same as the requests for land
at the provincial level.
176. Some of these concessions could have been for land formerly belonging to the Muda Agriculture and
Livestock State Enterprise; however, we have no data about this farm or its land to substantiate the argument.
177. Provincial Director of Agriculture, Sofala Province, personal communication, July 1992; District
Director of Agriculture, Nhamatanda, personal communication, July 1992; Director, Lamego State Farm,
personal communication, July 1992; also see Myers, West, and Eliseu (1993). These same companies were
reacquiring holdings in Manica Province as well (see Alexander 1994).
178. In 1992 officials at the provincial and district levels of government and officials from the provincial
office of DINAGECA were repeatedly asked about land access, conflicts, and shortages for smallholder
producers and small private interests. The DPA, DDA, and several representatives from provincial and district
offices of DINAGECA were convinced that land access was not a problem for smallholders or small private
interests in Nhamatanda or Buzi districts—the two most densely populated districts in the province. They
believed that any localized problems would be resolved once the war was over and the displaced people returned
to their homes. They seemed to believe that overcrowding was only a result of the war. See also Myers, West,
and Eliseu (1993, pp. 34-38); and Myers and Weiss (1994).