Private investment as an engine of rural development: A confrontation of theory and practice for the case of Mozambique

Governments and non-governmental organizations in developing countries have long struggled to identify effective strategies to support rural economic development. In the context of neoliberal reforms which have downsized the size of the state, governments are increasingly turning to private investment as a means of stimulating rural development. This is envisioned to occur through several different pathways, including employment creation, voluntary contributions to social services and infrastructure, and through business models that generate value for local communities. Yet to date, there is very little comparative research to identify the wider patterns of investment, and the nature and reach of benefits accruing through them. This paper undertakes such an analysis in the context of a national effort in Mozambique to level the playing field for local communities in the context of a recent surge in private investment, the Community Lands Initiative (Iniciativa de Terras Comunitarias, or iTC). iTC efforts to build community level capacity take place in a legislative context considered by many to be strongly supportive of customary rights, and in one of the most dynamic investment climates on the continent. Assessing outcomes in a context in which both the challenges and the potential for more empowering forms of investment are magnified provides a unique opportunity to explore the broader question of whether the logic of capital accumulation underlying agricultural investment can drive, or even be reconciled with, poverty alleviation and rural development agendas. Findings point to the incompatibilities between these aims, with many investments failing to result in community-investor partnerships and most of the partnerships that have emerged resulting in limited benefits for local communities. These findings suggest that community-investor partnerships are unlikely to be the much sought-after silver bullet for reconciling private investment with rural development and poverty alleviation aims.