An in-depth analysis with historical context, geopolitical dynamics, and forward-looking solutions.

By Esther Claudette Gittens | Photo Copyright IQ INC.

Executive Summary

• Overview: Mozambique faces a severe, systemic food crisis impacting over 5 million people, driven by climate shocks, Islamist insurgency in Cabo Delgado, and sweeping cuts in U.S. development aid under the Trump Administration.
• Historical Drivers: Colonial-era exploitation by Portugal and chartered companies created enduring patterns of poverty and institutional weakness.
• Wealth Control: Today, large multinationals in extractives enjoy outsized profits; local elites benefit through opacity and patronage. Resource-rich Mozambique remains one of the world’s poorest countries.
• Reparations & Accountability: While Portuguese leaders have voiced remorse, there are no formal reparations mechanisms. Mozambique has yet to pursue serious legal or political claims.
• Recommendations: Building climate-resilient agriculture, enacting transparency and contract reform in extractives, directing revenues to grassroots development, and exploring legal or financial reparative mechanisms are essential to break the cycle of crisis.

1. Introduction: Setting the Scene 

In 2024–2025, over 5.1 million Mozambicans were classified as food-insecure under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), with up to 1 million displaced in conflict-torn Cabo Delgado alone. Climate shocks—cyclones like Gombe and excess floods—have further degraded croplands, leaving smallholders struggling for subsistence. At the same time, U.S. President Trump’s sweeping cuts to USAID in early 2025 slashed nearly 90–99 % of overseas contracts, including critical nutrition and agricultural support in Mozambique.

With more than 70 % of the population reliant on agriculture, food insecurity in Mozambique is not an anomaly—it’s a systemic breakdown echoing deep structural issues rooted in colonial exploitation, elite capture, and global inequities.

2. Historical Roots of Structural Weakness 

2.1 Portuguese Colonialism & Chartered Firms

From 1505 to 1975, Portugal exploited Mozambique via chartered companies like the Mozambique and Niassa Companies, granted vast land and labor control. Indigenous populations endured forced labor (chibalo) well into the mid-20th century, producing commodity flows of timber, rubber, cotton, and ivory, while receiving virtually no infrastructure investment. A. Isaacman laments these firms prioritized plunder over development.

2.2 Post-Independence Civil War

Following independence in 1975, Mozambique erupted into a brutal civil war (1977–1992) between FRELIMO and RENAMO. The conflict destroyed infrastructure, disrupted agriculture, and created dependency on food imports and relief.

2.3 Comparative Context

Unlike British colonies, where minerals spurred infrastructure creation, Portuguese Mozambique epitomized extraction with minimal reinvestment—a pattern resembling Belgian Congo rather than colonial administrations in South Africa or Zambia. This legacy set the stage for enduring vulnerability.

3. Immediate Catalysts of Crisis 

3.1 Climate-Induced Food Shocks

Cyclones (Kenneth, Eloise, Gombe), floods, and droughts have escalated from occasional hazards into frequent emergencies. These extreme events destroy crops, erode soils, and drive food insecurity. Compared to Malawi’s FISP input subsidy scaling, Mozambique’s weak agricultural policy and poor institutional capacity have left it more exposed.

3.2 Islamist Insurgency in Cabo Delgado

Since 2017, Islamic extremist groups—locally misidentified as “Al-Shabaab”—have targeted civilians, farms, and infrastructure in northern Mozambique. With roots in Salafi-jihadism framed through local grievance narratives, they mirror Nigeria’s Boko Haram in structure and impact . Over 1 million have been displaced, severely disrupting food production.

3.3 U.S. Aid Cuts under Trump

In early 2025, USAID was restructured, cutting nearly half its portfolio in Mozambique—amounting to USD 172 million removed from food/nutrition and health programs. On-the-ground reports describe halted food distributions, clinic shutdowns, and mass layoffs of agronomy field agents.

4. Power and Wealth Structures Today 

4.1 Extractives Dominance

Mozambique holds some of Africa’s largest LNG reserves, in the €95 billion Rovuma Basin. Multinationals like TotalEnergies, ENI, ExxonMobil, and Sasol dominate operations; yet locals see little benefit. Companies reportedly avoided up to USD 2 billion in withholding tax—more than annual healthcare spending.

4.2 Infrastructure and Elite Capture

Majority-owned foreign projects, such as Vale-led Nacala rail, secure profits offshore. Local firms—often owned by politically connected elites—monopolize security and support contracts tied to extractives.

4.3 The LNG Paradox & Tuna Bond Scandal

Despite its gas wealth, Mozambique ranks 181st on the UN’s HDI. The 2013-14 “Tuna Bond” scandal saw USD 2 billion in undisclosed loans misappropriated by elites, stalling IMF access and deepening debt distress.

5. Colonial Exploitation Quantified 

5.1 Labor & Resource Extraction

Forced labor persisted into the 1960s, with over 500,000 Mozambicans under chibalo in 1900. Extraction included tens of thousands of tons of natural resources; Portugal reinvested almost nothing locally.

5.2 Financial Flow

While precise figures are unavailable, Portugal conducted profitable transatlantic trade and resource exports from Mozambique. Scholars argue the colonial economy was structured for rapid extraction, minimal reinvestment, reinforcing Mozambican poverty.

5.3 Comparative Colonial Context

Unlike British-ruled territories, Portugal offered no infrastructure exchange for resources—creating a “pile-and-quarry” colonial model similar to Congo. The absence of infrastructure, human capital, and institutions has left a long-lasting development deficit.

6. Reparations Discourse 

6.1 Portugal’s Political Shift

In April 2024, Portugal’s president acknowledged colonial theft and discussed moral responsibility. Still, the government limits this to “cooperation,” not financial reparations.

6.2 Mozambique’s Position

Though civil society voices increasingly demand accountability, there’s no national reparations movement. The country remains focused on humanitarian resilience and resource policies.

6.3 Global Benchmarking

Germany’s €1.1 billion genocide reparations to Namibia in 2021 and Caribbean claims against the UK present roadmaps. The UN’s Basic Principles on Reparations (2005) offer frameworks that Mozambique could adopt—but legal, diplomatic, and financial hurdles are significant.

7. Outlook & Policy Recommendations 

7.1 Climate-Resilient Agriculture

• Scale irrigation and input subsidies: emulate Malawi’s FISP, which doubled maize yields when integrated with training and extension services.
• Expand on FAO-led programs distributing drought-resistant seeds and training 50,000 smallholders in conservation agriculture by 2026.

7.2 Extractives Governance Reform

• Strengthen EITI implementation: ensure full publication of contracts, tax payments, and spending.
• Implement revenue sharing: a proposed sovereign wealth fund could direct 70 % of royalties to public education, health, and agrarian infrastructure—linking gas wealth to food security.

7.3 Market Access & Infrastructure

• Invest USD 2 billion in rural roads and storage within 5 years—based on World Bank-led proposals—to reduce post-harvest loss by 25 %.
• Deploy digital platforms providing real-time market pricing to 200,000 smallholder households by 2027.

7.4 Aid Strategy & International Cooperation

• Restore USAID funding (~USD 172 million) and push multilateral institutions to maintain climate and food security commitments.
• Launch debt-for-food swaps and climate bonds: debtor relief conditioned on domestic investment in nutrition and adaptation.

8. Conclusion 

Mozambique’s crisis is not an unexpected disaster—it is the manifestation of layered failures: historical injustice, structural exploitation, and power imbalances reinforced by global policy and corporate behavior.

Yet hope remains:

• There is billions in resource wealth that can be harnessed for social transformation—if governance and transparency mechanisms are strengthened.
• Successful policy precedents exist—from Malawi’s agriculture programs to Namibia’s reparative settlement with Germany.
• Global finance and developmental tools, now aligned with climate and equity priorities, provide pathways to durable solutions.

Mozambique stands at a crossroads: default into dependency and crisis—or redefine its development path through inclusive, justice-driven reforms that put its citizens—not multinational profit—at the center.