Land is the main production factor and one of the main sources of wealth in Mozambique. Estimates show that only 15 percent of the available land is being farmed. The land earmarked for agricultural investments amounts to nearly seven million hectares. The Government of Mozambique launched a series of laws to attract investors in land and moreover to safeguard the interests of the rural population.
 
Mozambique attracts foreign direct investors as the country is political stable and offers access to regional (SADC) and international markets (WTO). Limiting to FDI is the fact that the land belongs to the state and can only be ceded for a 50-year period. Whereas the chief priority of all laws and reforms is to protect the population living in rural areas, the Government is also concerned with improving the business climate for the private sector to invest in the country.
 
Salim Cripton Valá
Directorate of Promotion of Rural Development
Ministry of Planning and Development
Maputo, Mozambique
salimvala@dnpdr-promer.org.mz