'Green Revolution' for Whom? Women's Access to a nd Use of Land in the Mozambique Chokwe Irrigation Scheme

The Chokwe irrigation scheme, covering approximately 30,000 hectares of land and cultivated by more than 11,000 farmers, is the largest area of irrigated land in Mozambique. Renewed interest in the scheme stems from the 'green revolution strategy', the Mozambican government's current agricultural policy that aims to "increase agricultural production and productivity of small farmers" and to eliminate the need to import rice and potatoes. This policy has major implications for an aspect that makes the Chokwe irrigation scheme an unusual case study: the high percentage of women in the family sector holding an irrigated parcel in their own name. This high number is a consequence of the historical dynamics of the area in the southern part of the country that have pushed the migration of men towards South Africa. This article analyses these dynamics and discusses the implications of the 'green revolution strategy' with respect to women's access to and use of land.