Mozambique

protest and inset picture of Ven芒ncio Mondlane

Mozambique is at a critical juncture, with post-election discontent revealing deep-rooted flaws in its political system, writes Boaventura Monjane.

Peasants across Africa are intensifying their struggles against land grabs and other harmful policies that promote industrial agriculture. At a recent international conference organised by the world鈥檚 largest peasant movement, Via Campesina, African peasants had opportunities to share their experiences of struggle and to learn.

鈥淚t is amazing to see how linked our struggles are,鈥 said Nicolette Cupido from the Agrarian Reform for Food Sovereignty Campaign (FSC) in South Africa.

Everywhere you look these days, things are turning green. In Chiapas, Mexico, indigenous farmers are being paid to protect the last vast stretch of rainforest in Mesoamerica. In the Brazilian Amazon, peasant families are given a monthly 鈥済reen basket鈥 of basic food staples to allow them to get by without cutting down trees. In Kenya, small farmers who plant climate-hardy trees and protect green zones are promised payment for their part in the fight to reduce global warming.