Impacto socio-económico da produção dos biocombustíveis em Moçambique: o caso do distrito de Massingir

Abstract

The present work appears as a partial requirement for obtaining a degree in Anthropology from the Faculty of Letters and Social Sciences of the Eduardo Mondlane University. This study was carried out in the district of Massingir, which is located in the province of Gaza. It is a study of a leisure-anthropological nature and which has as its theme, Socio-economic impact of the production of biofuels in Mozambique: The case of the district of Massingir. Its general objective is to identify and analyze the perceptions that the different parties involved have regarding the implementation of the biofuel project in the district of Massingir, as well as its socio-economic impact at the local level. Therefore, in specific terms, we intend to identify the degree of community involvement in the implementation of this initiative and, finally, to raise the perceptions that the inhabitants of Massingir have about the production of biofuels. To achieve the proposed objectives, we resorted to bibliographic review, fieldwork, semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation. From the analysis of the data collected in the field, we verified that the communities have logics peculiar to them. These model the social aspects of day-to-day life, including their productive practices, which are guided by intergenerational knowledge that guarantees the survival of local populations. Those that sometimes erode or undergo profound changes with the introduction of developmental initiatives that are foreign to the community. With the work, it was also possible to see that the implementation of the project for the production of biofuel had a certain impact within the community and that it understood and understands the following fundamental moments. The initial moment of the project with PROCANA was considered to have a negative impact due to the action strategies that were out of step with the local reality, which consequently premeditated its bankruptcy and extinction. The second moment is the emergence and entry of the new company called MAI with the same vocation and objectives of the extinct PROCANA, whose performance has garnered sympathy within the local population. Likewise, we also found that in the perception of the different actors involved in the implementation of this project, there may be new opportunities to earn money through the cultivation and sale of cane to the MAI by the communities. This implies changes in the social organization of productive activities, in the economy, and in social life. This fact allows young people and women to renegotiate the circulation of resources and power relations as both men and women, as well as young people of both sexes, appear to be eligible for new jobs.(TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)