Impacts of large scale sugar investments on local livelihoods seen through the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach : A case study on a multinational sugar company’s presence in Manhiça, Mozambique

Abstract: Establishment of big companies in rural areas is something that is getting more and more common as the phenomenon of land acquisition is growing. This study is based on a case study in Manhiça where a big scale multinational sugar company, consisting of a sugar factory and sugarcane plantations, has been present for almost 20 years. The theoretical framework is based on the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) that is made into a method by taking dimensions from the theory and converting them into analytical tools. The aim is to identify and analyse the impacts that the company’s activities have on longer term on the capital basis of the various groups with which the company relates. Using the perspective of SLA helps identify the wide range of impacts – direct and indirect, positive and negative – that matter to local people. The study is qualitative and based on semi-structured interviews made with different groups of outgrower farmers and employees as well as representatives for the company and the municipality. The results are, in accordance with the principles underlying the SLA, focusing on the perceptions of people and the dynamic nature of livelihoods. A pilot study is used to indicate which impacts that are a result of the company’s presence and which only a result of switching to cash crops. The study shows that different groups are affected different from the interactions with the company. People with already weak livelihoods are benefited least since their access to different capital assets decrease.