WORKING PAPER Brazilian Development Cooperation in Agriculture A Scoping Study on ProSavana in Mozambique, with Implications for Forests Sigrid-Marianella Stensrud Ekman Carmen Stella Macamo Working Paper 138 Brazilian Development Cooperation in Agriculture A Scoping Study on ProSavana in Mozambique, with Implications for Forests Sigrid-Marianella Stensrud Ekman Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Carmen Stella Macamo Universidade Eduardo Mondlane Working Paper 138 © 2014 Center for International Forestry Research Content in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Ekman S-MS, and Carmen Stella Macamo. 2014. Brazilian Development Cooperation in Agriculture: A Scoping Study on ProSavana in Mozambique, with Implications for Forests. Working Paper 138. Bogor, Indonesia: CIFOR. Photo by Sigrid Ekman Soya field in Ribaue district CIFOR Jl. CIFOR, Situ Gede Bogor Barat 16115 Indonesia T +62 (251) 8622-622 F +62 (251) 8622-100 E [email protected] cifor.org We would like to thank all donors who supported this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Fund. For a list of Fund donors please see: https://www.cgiarfund.org/FundDonors Any views expressed in this book are those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of CIFOR, the editors, the authors’ institutions, the financial sponsors or the reviewers. Table of contents Executive summary v 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background literature on ProSavana 1 1.2 Brazil as an emerging donor 1 1.3 Brazil and Japan in Mozambique’s agricultural sector 2 1.4 Agriculture in Mozambique 3 2. Methodology 6 3. The ProSavana Program 7 3.1 Overview 7 3.2 Main components of the ProSavana program 8 3.3 From PROCEDER to ProSavana 10 3.4 Zonal strategies and farming models 11 3.5 Quick Impact Projects (ProSavana-PD) 15 3.6 An agricultural “big push” 16 3.7 Agribusiness pilot projects: Models for cooperation 17 3.8 ProSavana in relation to PEDSA 20 3.9 Crops supported by ProSavana 21 4. ProSavana, forests and people 23 4.1 Establishment of large-scale farming 23 4.2 Principles of Responsible Agricultural Investment (PRAIs) 25 4.3 Shift toward settled farming 26 4.4 Registration of DUATs and creation of a land database 27 4.5 Potential impacts on the Miombo forest 28 4.6 Perspectives of civil society organizations 32 4.7 Rumors of land grabbing under ProSavana 32 5. Conclusion 34 6. References 36 List of figures and tables Figures 1. Map of ProSavana implementation area. 7 2. Socio-environmental vulnerability categories for 19 districts under ProSavana. 11 3. Map of management suitability types in the ProSavana districts. 12 4. Map of proposed clusters in the ProSavana area. 13 5. Productive forests in Mozambique. 28 6. Forest coverage in ProSavana area. 29 7. The approximate QIP 26 project area. 31 Tables 1. Overview of Brazilian agricultural aid programs in Mozambique. 2 2. Definition of farming size. 3 3. Average current and potential yields in northern Mozambique (tons/hectare). 4 4. Farmers’ access to agricultural inputs in Mozambique. 4 5. Key informant interviews carried out for the scoping study. 6 7. Overview of the components of ProSavana. 8 8. Factors for zonal strategies. 11 9. Management types set out in the ProSavana draft strategy draft. 12 10. Potential clusters in the Nacala Corridor. 13 11. Overview of clusters and zonal strategies. 14 12. Proposed Quick Impact Projects in the draft Master Plan. 16 13. ProSavana pilot projects for contract farming /out grower models. 17 14. Overview of ProSavana QIPs and needs identified in PEDSA 21 15. Forest cover and deforestation rates in provinces covered by ProSavana. 28 Executive summary This study forms part of a greater project, New and, indeed, if it is replicable at all, given the South–South Development Trends and African socioeconomic and environmental differences Forest, carried out in Gabon, Mozambique and between the two regions. Cameroon. In Mozambique, the project focused on the Brazilian–Japanese–Mozambican trilateral This paper finds large misconceptions about what program ProSavana. At the time the study began, the ProSavana program is and what agrarian there was little information or previous work on models will be implemented under the program. the topic. This paper should therefore be treated as The ProSavana program team’s inadequacy in a scoping study. During the course of this scoping effectively communicating the program’s mission, study, only a few papers based on field research methods and content has led civil society to look were published, and the initial findings of this study to PROCEDER for clues as to how ProSavana are largely in line with this research. This paper will play out in Mozambique. However, the supplements the existing literature by adding depth findings from field visits, interviews with a from field interviews in Nampula and Zambezia range of stakeholders and a review of ProSavana as well as an examination of the draft ProSavana project documents reported in this paper are that reports, which became available in May 2013. ProSavana will not be a replica of PROCEDER and the strategies proposed do align well with ProSavana is mostly an agricultural aid program, Mozambique’s agrarian strategy, known as with limited investments planned in forestry. Its aim PEDSA, and by extension the Comprehensive is to transform the agricultural sector in northern African Agriculture Development Programme Mozambique along the Nacala Corridor into a (CAADP). ProSavana must therefore be evaluated competitive and sustainable industry, by promoting on its own merit. private investments in cooperation with the public sector. That transformation has potential impacts All widespread transformations carry the risk on the Mozambican forest ecosystem dominated by of having adverse impacts on certain groups or leguminous miombo tree species and the economic localities. Although the program mainly focuses on interests of people who derive benefits from small- to medium-scale farmers and the promotion those forests. of contract farming and outgrower schemes where larger scales are found to be advisable, threats ProSavana has its origins in Japan’s agricultural emerge of resettlement and forest clearance. The development program PROCEDER, which was strategies drawn up as part of the ProSavana implemented in Brazil’s Cerrado region in the program were developed from field research into 1970s and 1980s. Through the development and the agrarian, socioeconomic and environmental application of agrarian research technologies, conditions in the program area conducted by the the Cerrado savanna with its unfertile soils ProSavana program teams, and the project plans was transformed into a global agricultural hub. include activities aimed at mitigating any adverse The project was hailed as a success in terms of impacts. Nevertheless, given the weak institutional agricultural production. systems in Mozambique, experience indicates that plans and regulations, however perfect on paper, Yet the Cerrado transformation was not without often take on a different shape when put into criticism. Although the area is sparsely populated, practice, with the most vulnerable groups often are native communities are reported to have been at risk of losing out in encounters with investors. marginalized. Another critique of the agrarian Civil society therefore has a large role to play to development is that it threatens the indigenous ensure that activities under ProSavana meet its savanna and its biodiversity. Such criticisms raise environmental and social goals. The program team the questions of whether it is desirable to replicate could benefit from innovative thinking to ensure the Cerrado model in northern Mozambique, that the written plans unfold in practice as hoped. Acknowledgments The research presented in this article was conducted Nampula for their extensive assistance; ProSavana as part of the project “Emerging economy personnel for going beyond all our expectations multinationals: New south-south development to accommodate our research; Dr. Mario Falcao at trends and African forests,” funded by GIZ Universidade do Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo for (Contract No. 81141285) The research team assisting with the implementation of the research expresses their gratitude to all those who supported project; ORAM, UGCN and the Nampula Civil the project and made the research possible. We Society Platform for inviting us and including us would like to thank all the key informants for giving in their discussions; and the farmers who received up some of their time to share their invaluable us and shared their perspectives with us. We also knowledge and contacts with us. Particular thanks extend our thanks to Louis Putzel and George go to IIAM, both in Maputo and in Nampula, for Schoeneveld for their input and comments on the receiving us and providing insightful information; final report. the Provincial Department of Agriculture in Abbreviations ABC Agência Brasileira de Cooperação (Brazilian Cooperation Agency) CAADP Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme CLUSA Cooperative League of the United States of America CPI Center for Investment Promotion DNTF National Directorate of Land and Forests DPA Provincial Department for Agriculture DUAT Direito de Use e Aproveitamento da Terra EIA Environmental Impact Assessment Embrapa Empresa Brasilieira de Pequisa Agropecuaria EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture