Tang Lixia

Brazil and China in Mozambican Agriculture: Emerging Insights from the Field

Mozambique, a country undergoing rapid transformations driven by the recent discovery of mineral resources, is one of the top destinations for Chinese and Brazilian cooperation and investment in Africa. This article provides an account of the policies, narratives, operational modalities and underlying motivations of Brazilian and Chinese development cooperation in Mozambique. It is particularly interested in understanding how the engagements are perceived and talked about, what drives them and what formal and informal relations are emerging at the level of particular exchanges. The article draws on three cases (1) ProSavana, Brazils current flagship programme in Mozambique, which aims to transform the countrys savanna, spreading along the Nacala corridor, drawing on Brazils own experience in the Cerrado; (2) the Chinese Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre (ATDC); and (3) a private Chinese rice investment project in the Xai‐Xai irrigation scheme, which builds on a technical cooperation initiative. Commonalities and differences between the Brazilian and Chinese approaches are discussed.

What can Africa Learn from China's Experience in Agricultural Development?

Recently there has been a growing interest in Chinas rapid economic growth, particularly concerning the role of agriculture and its impact on poverty reduction. While China and Africa have developed their agricultural sectors under different historical conditions, this article proposes that Chinas poverty reduction and smallholder‐based agricultural policies can provide a useful model for African countries to develop their own strategies in agrarian change.