Leasing Land Overseas: A Viable Strategy For Chinese Food Security? Opportunities And Risks Of Chinese Agricultural Investments In Mozambique

In the aftermath of the 2008 food crisis China is widely reported in the media to be leasing land overseas in order to vertically integrate food supply and circumvent the volatile international market. With only 7% of the world's arable land, but 20% of the world's population, China is reported to be on a desperate hunt for land as relying on international markets can cause instability in supplies and disrupts social harmony.This paper examined the viability of such a strategy in the case of Chinese agricultural engagement in Mozambique and found that vertically integrating is far from a perfect substitute for domestic production. Sourcing land overseas can however diversify risks and can thus be a complement to domestic production and trading on the international market. Furthermore, the study found that currently there are no such Chinese investments with the intent of exporting agricultural produce back to China and that China is currently not vertically integrating food supplies from Mozambique.In line with the research findings, it is argued that China do not fall into the category of "Colonizer", but rather takes the role of "Development partner", and with the coupling of Chinese aid and business, China will also take the role of "Competitor".Despite the fact that China operates under such grave land constraints China is still able to provide 95% of all its domestic food demands, and that this is a remarkable achievement. This paper argues that we should not view China's agricultural engagement abroad as a desperate search for resources, but rather view China's outwards expansion of agriculture as a result of her agricultural success rather than the looming limitations, whereby Chinese companies (both public and private) see an opportunity and niche in a relatively unexploited market for both aid and profit.