The Beira crisis highlights the increasing importance of exports and regional and cross-border trade to African economies, and the reliance of landlocked countries like Malawi and Zimbabwe on efficient transport and port infrastructure. But the crisis is also a reminder of the vulnerability of many agriculture-based livelihoods in the Beira corridor, and the need for systematic, sustained investment in rural areas. While large farms have increased in number, smallholder farming remains the dominant agricultural system in central Mozambique.