Impact of trade liberalization on food security in Mozambique

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of trade liberalization on food security at both national and rural household levels in Mozambique. Three periods are covered at national level: before trade reforms (1975-1986), after reforms under IMF/WB’s (International Monetary Fund/World Bank’s) period (1987-1994), and after reforms under IMF/WB/WTO’s (World Trade Organization’s) period (1995-2014). The researcher adopted the conceptual framework developed by the FAO (2003:235) according to which a country’s food security status can be influenced by diverse factors, including trade liberalization, through changes in relative prices, in quantities produced and consumed, and in trade volumes. At national level, the evidence suggests that trade liberalization’s impact on food security is both positive and negative. At rural household level, the empirical findings suggest that trade liberalization has no significant impact, either positive or negative, on households’ food security due mainly to poor infrastructure, households’ high dependence on subsistence farming and their lack of purchasing power.