Land rights

"Yes, there used to be conflicts." Beatriz Rafael nods firmly. "When I was weeding, sometimes someone would show up and intimidate me. They’d say: 'Why are you weeding here?' But we were working in our own field, just trying to grow food. Then they’d demand: 'Who told you to weed here? Show me your document!' It was really frightening because we couldn't prove that the land belonged to us. So, we left the plot."

Since childhood, Beatriz has worked the same fields that once belonged to her parents, in Eduardo Mondlane village, Meconta District, Nampula Province. Until recently, no land, house, or field in the village had a DUAT[1]. With it, Beatriz believes, "the community will have a Better Life, because the land will be protected, and investment can follow."

The investment she refers to – planned by FAO, under the European Union-funded PROMOVE Agribiz programme and through the leadership of the Government of Mozambique – is the construction of a dam and installation of an irrigation system in Eduardo Mondlane. The goal is to provide the community with year-round access to water, enabling continuous agricultural production. As Beatriz puts it: "Water is life. With water, you can do anything."

To ensure secure access to land and prevent future disputes once the infrastructure is in place, FAO signed a Letter of Agreement with the Provincial Directorate for Territorial Development and the Environment (DPDTA), the public institution legally mandated to lead community consultations and land delimitation, and issue community and individual DUATs.

"The DUAT will bring a lot of benefits to all of us."

Community consultation. © FAO/Ricardo Franco

Manuel Zacarias, a community member and neighbour of Beatriz', also sees the issuance of the DUAT and the upcoming investment as essential to the village’s development. "With the DUAT, we feel safer. And with the dam, we’ll be able to bathe, irrigate our fields, and increase our production." He smiles, glances around, and gestures toward the surrounding homes. "We’ll have good food and more income. The DUAT is going to bring a lot of benefits to all of us."

With legal land tenure secured, the community can now promote agricultural investments and infrastructure development with confidence, since farmers will have greater security to adopt technologies that can improve their production processes.

The process of issuing the DUAT began with a community consultation, led by the District Administrator of Meconta, Melchior Focas, where residents confirmed that the land in question belonged to them. After verifying this with local leaders, the Administrator asked the community whether they wanted a DUAT for the land, and they unanimously agreed. A few months later, authorities returned to physically demarcate the land. Soon after, officials from the district and province, accompanied by FAO technicians, formally handed over the DUAT for 15 hectares of land in Eduardo Mondlane. This is where the dam is being built and where the irrigation system will be installed.

DUAT Attribution. © FAO/Ricardo Franco

"We are ready for the future."

Since receiving the DUAT, excitement has spread throughout the community. For years, Joaquim Macauanha, one of the village’s founders, advocated for building a dam on the local river.

"What this village needs is water to produce and grow," he would say, noting how little use was made of the flowing river. Today, it’s clear that Macauanha was a man ahead of his time.

Now, with legal land tenure and irrigation underway, farmers in the community are actively involved in the early stages of the construction. They want the project to feel like their own and ensure its long-term sustainability. Their involvement is not only reducing costs but also building skills and technical capacity for future management.

In parallel, the farmers will be trained in the use, management, and maintenance of the irrigation system. With a shared purpose and a long-awaited vision finally materializing, Joaquim Macauanha sums it up with conviction: "We are ready for the future."

[1] The Right of Use and Enjoyment of Land (DUAT) is a fundamental right that guarantees Mozambican citizens and other entities secure access to, use of, and benefits from land. In Mozambique, land is owned by the state, but the DUAT authorizes its use for both social and economic purposes.