Author: Deborah Brautigam, Sigrid-Marianella Stensrud Ekman.

FOREIGN INTEREST IN LARGE LAND ACQUISITIONS IN AFRICA began to hit the headlines in 2007 and 2008. China, a net food importer since 2004, was seen as one of the chief players in this rush for land. Mozambique has often been cited in support of the widespread conclusion that the Chinese government is directly seeking land in Africa for China's own food security.1 This briefing shows that the much-circulated picture of Chinese agricultural activities in Mozambique is closer to fiction than fact. That the conventional wisdom on Mozambique can be so far from reality calls into question the picture in other African countries as well. Worries about the developmental impact of large-scale land investment are well-founded. Large land transfers are bound to raise alarms, and more so if the land is communally owned or occupied by subsistence farmers, or in a food-deficit region. Furthermore, many believe that Chinese companies will not simply invest in a search for profit, but will act primarily to advance Beijing's national security goals.2 Chinese foreign investment in land evokes fears of loss of national control, hence the parallels that are frequently drawn with neo-colonialism. Beginning in 2008, multiple reports emerged stating that Beijing and Maputo had (1) signed agreements in 2006 or 2007 to import tens of thousands of Chinese farmers into Mozambique to produce rice for China; (2) that local outrage had scuttled these plans; but (3) that the Chinese government had still pledged to invest US$800 million to modernize Mozambique's rice sector to supply the Chinese market.3 This three-part story was circulated globally, cited often, and, as noted below, became fundamental to analyses of Chinese engagement in agriculture in Africa more generally. Intrigued by these reports and their implications, we travelled to Mozambique, separately, in 2009, 2010, and 2012.4 Our field interviews and archival research turned up no evidence to support these three claims (and others). Although we did find a handful of Chinese agricultural aid activities and investments, these were far from a concerted effort by ‘Beijing’ to turn a passive Mozambique into a long-distance supplier of rice. What we found was a far different story: an assertive Mozambican government and private sector engaging with multiple Chinese actors to further Mozambique's own agricultural goals.