China led the reclamation of the largest abandoned rice farm in Mozambique, with the blessing of the authorities. But now the company involved is accused of land grabbing and displacing thousands. Cecilia Anesi and Andrea Fama report
Improving smallholder rights to the land they depend on is becoming more of a necessity as farmland speculation and competition between food and energy crops threatens their tenure
Report on land-grabbing reveals large-scale farmland deals amounted to 45 million hectares in 2009 alone with 6 million hectares expected to be added every year in less industrialised countries
Advocates of foreign ownership of agricultural land say it brings wealth, infrastructure and new farming techniques; opponents say that displaced and deskilled smallholders are often the result