Equality 2 economics 3 democracy and government 4 ethiopia 5 6 7 land in ethiopia is being leased to agroindustry. This paper explores indian land acquisitions in ethiopia and tries to. Land rights and land grabbing in oromia, ethiopia sciencedirect. For example, the land grab problems in economically forgotten gambella are very different from other relatively betteroff places. In ethiopia, more land grabs, more indigenous people pushed out 929 10. Ethiopia is one of the main targets in the current global farmland grab. The executive committee of osa is following the issue of land grab in africa and the eviction of the oromo people, the 21st century new colonization, and the practice of modern day slavery on the oromos in particular with a great deal of interest. Indian land grabs in ethiopia show dark side of south. Ethiopian case study sara prandi ambiente y desarrollo 20142015 1 land is quickly becoming the new gold and right now the rush is on. This analyzed paper the nexus between population growth and cultivated land with the main emphasis on. The european project ejolt environmental justice organisations, liabilities and trade is building a global map of land grabbing, with the aim to make an interactive online map on this and many other environmental justice issue by 20. In ethiopia, more land grabs, more indigenous people pushed out. Odusola over the past decade, largescale land acquisition in africa has become quite intense, especially in drc, ethiopia, madagascar, mozambique, sudan, tanzania and zambia.
The government has stated publicly that it wants to sell off three million hectares of farmland in the country to foreign investors, and around one million hectares have already been signed away. Ethiopia is heavily affected by this and the government is currently. Oct 20, 2016 land grabbing occurs in countries, such as malaysia and cambodia, where the residents are often poor. Structural violence of globalization in oromiaethiopia why is land grab both a structural and personal violence. In ethiopia, more land grabs, more indigenous people. Bekele gerba, one of the prisoners of continuous in that country. Ethiopias economic activity and a great deal of its recent success, is actually being driven by an out of control land grab, as multinational companies and. Large areas of land have already been leased to a number of foreign companies. Feb 25, 20 indian land grabs in ethiopia show dark side of southsouth cooperation the takeover of peoples land and water by corporations even if they are from the global south is a new form of. Thescholarsinterviewedwill be presented via footnotes in the text. Specific home and hostcountry policies, cheap land, the lack of a legal infrastructure, investment opportunities and the promise of quick profit returns are the driving factors behind land acquisitions throughout africa, argues nikolaj nielsen in this weeks pambazuka news. Stebek abstract this article examines whether the land rent contracts and the ethiopian legal framework on rural land use rights can assure winwin mutual benefits. N2 this paper examines the domestic political economy of socalled land grabbing in ethiopia, assessing the motivations of the ethiopian government, which has strongly promoted foreign agricultural investment.
Ethiopians talk of violence and land grabs as their homes are. Structural violence of globalization in oromia ethiopia why is land grab both a structural and personal violence. We are working remotely and continue to stand by our partner communities. Africa land grab recent articles and reports on african. Think of what you can buy with 40 cents if you walk into a grocery store in the u. This article discusses issues about land grabbing in ethiopia and mr. Land grab literature suggests that land grabbing is often a phenomenon to address food security problems in the investor or host country cotula et al. The victims of land grabbing and displacement are given a rare voice in we say the land is not yours. The political economy of agricultural investment in ethiopia. This paper examines the domestic political economy of socalled landgrabbing in ethiopia, assessing the motivations of the ethiopian government, which has strongly promoted foreign agricultural investment. Though i was predisposed toward the ethiopia i had studied since the late 1950s, i.
Pdf this paper examines the domestic political economy of socalled landgrabbing in ethiopia, assessing the motivations of the ethiopian. In ethiopia, foreign investment is a fancy word for. International largescale land acquisitions in ethiopia. The political economy of agricultural investment in ethiopia article pdf available in journal of peasant studies 391. In ethiopia, foreign investment is a fancy word for stealing land. Apr 14, 2015 the victims of land grabbing and displacement are given a rare voice in we say the land is not yours. Land grabbing, sustainable development and human rights. Longterm prospects for building durable peace, cooperation and integration in the horn of africa. Breaking the silence against forced displacement in ethiopia, a report from the california. May 28, 2014 on paper, it was reported that the land grab was stopped, but some press subsequently reported that some parts of the forest had been grabbed and were being used for sugarcane growing anyway.
Much of the literature on the land grab has thus far focused on the international drivers of foreign agricultural investment, with far less attention paid to the roles of developing country states and domestic political economy in changing forms of. This article explores the impact of land grabbing in ethiopia and examines the human rights and sustainable development frameworks within which land grabbing takes place. Nevertheless a picture is emerging of largescale land acquisitions in africa. Ethiopian case study sara prandi ambiente y desarrollo 2014 2015 1 land is quickly becoming the new gold and right now the rush is on. Breaking the silence against forced displacement in ethiopia. Prominent international development thinktanks helped to reinforce this framing. Land grabbing in africa, the new colonialism this is africa. What effect does land grabbing have on local people. The land grab in ethiopia generally has negative economic and social consequences, and these consequences differ from place to place within ethiopia. Land grabbing and violations of human rights in ethiopia. Skype interviews were held in september2014,wereopenended,lastingseveralhourstodraw on observations and documentation available on land grab trends in. Access to rural land by investors is guaranteed by article 4 of ethiopia s rural land administration and land use proclamation 4562005 so long as priority is supposedly given to peasant farmers and pastoralists. The ethiopian government has set aside an area of land around the size of belgium, 3 million hectares, available for lease. Over the past several years, grain staff and allies in different regions have been tracking media and other information sources on a daily basis and posting reports on land grab.
Dec 11, 2011 no selling out of africa stop land grabbing arable land is being targeted by investors, world bank group and the policy of facilitating land grab in africa in favor of the interests of the. Area of agricultural lands arable land, permanent crops, permanent meadows and pastures. In the documentary, land grabbing, it was found that over 1,000 people in a village were evicted violently. By enclosing the village commons and evicting farmers from their land, the land grabs are accelerating global trends toward the consolidation of chemicalintensive industrial farming that facilitates biocultural homogenization. He is a consultant to various organizations working on land issues in eastern africa and was the author and researcher of human rights watchs recent report on villagization in western ethiopia entitled waiting here for death. Therefore, understanding and quantifying the spatio temporal dynamics of urban land use and land cover changes and its driving factors is essential to put forward the right policies and monitoring mechanisms on. Others might embrace a job at saudi star, maybe rising to run the farm.
Yilkal asfaw woube eritreas false label as sponsor of terrorism. Land grabbing is the contentious issue of largescale land acquisitions. The impact of land grabbing in ethi opia is manifested through five interconnected factors that the regime has designed to sustain its military, political and economic powers in order to protect its brutal and savage governance system for the next quarter or half a century. Bodurtha, justin caron, jote chemeda, dinara shakhmetova, and long vo introduction and problem definition the challenges of land tenure in ethiopia are part of a complex policy problem that stem from failed. Effects of largescale land acquisition in rural ethiopia slu. The political ecology of land grabs in ethiopia springerlink. Primary and secondary data on land acquisitions in africa is scarce and often of limited reliability. Land grabbing in ethiopia ethiopia news and politics. Land governance and the environment building the capacity hanoi, vietnam, 1922 october 2009 land valuation for expropriation in ethiopia. In addition to the international driv ers of the land grab, in. The ongoing controversy is not new in ethiopia, and land grabs by governments for lucrative leasing deals. Ethiopia as a nation, defining it as an obsolete empirestate, a prison house of peoples.
Recommendations for reformi prepared for solidarity movement for a new ethiopia smne by peter j. How many of each type of land belongs to each man live in the country. During the interviews, the land grab affected people dismissed the government justification that all land in ethiopia belongs to the state, and strongly argued that the land grabbing policy was intended to deprive communities of their land use rights, destroy traditional farming methods and knowledge, and displace them from their ancestral. So how will india meet its growing biomass requirements. European involvement in land grabbing with a particular look at uganda. Valuation methods and adequacy of compensation 7th fig regional conference spatial data serving people. The article argues that a human rights approach is fundamental to reconcile the sustainable development imperatives of economic development and environmental protection in the.
The suffering of farmers in ethiopia, especially in oromia, benishangul, somali and gambella regions is going from worse to the worst in ethiopia as a result of inequitable land acquisitions, better called by neocolonial land grabbing, by foreign investors in the name of lease by the ethiopian regime. Persson, recommends that the government, private sector and academia further investigate the potential damages large scale farms have perpetrated in ethiopia and beyond. An apparent surge in the purchase of african land by foreign companies and governments to grow food and other crops for export has set alarm bells ringing on and off the continent. Home news africa historical aspects of landgrab in ethiopia with political game linked to land tenure of successive regimes 1889 2018 historical aspects of landgrab in ethiopia with political game linked to land tenure of successive regimes 1889 2018. The recent large scale land acquisitions in ethiopia. Land is the source of life and death land is not just a material possession. Land expropriation and the emerging largescale land transfer to investors in ethiopia have farreaching adverse impacts on the livelihood of rural populations and the environment abdo, 2015, ambaye, 20, tura, 2017, grant, 2015. Elias amare, senior fellow of the peace building center of the horn of africa pastoralism and conflict in ethiopia and the horn of africa dr. The problem of land reform in ethiopia has hampered that countrys economic development throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. Forced displacement and villagization in ethiopia s gambella region. The ngo, international land coalition, estimates that from 2000 to 2010, about 261 million acres of arable land, much of it in africa, were acquired by investors.
The project also produces in depth resources on land grabbing, such as this video on land grabbing in ethiopia. While used broadly throughout history, land grabbing as used in the 21st century primarily refers to largescale land acquisitions following the 200708 world food price crisis. Using a qualitative research design, based on a literature. The phenomenon of large scale land acquisition has increased in recent years. A substantial amount of land has already been acquired by both domestic and foreign investors in. Oct 17, 2014 in ethiopia, foreign investment is a fancy word for stealing land.
Ethiopian officials have revoked land leases in addis ababa that were held by dozens of investors, including ethiopianborn saudi billionaire mohammed hussein alamoudi. Land rent contracts with foreign investors and ethiopia s normative setting in focus elias n. The 1997 church land conference in johannesburg was indeed accurate in noting that land is and should be above commerce and politics, that land is the source of life and death, like a mother who gives her children sustenance without which they would perish. Access to land in ethiopia the impact of land laws, industrial development, villagization and land grab in rural areas abstract the objective of this thesis is to examine rural populations access to land in ethiopia, in the light of land regulations and different obstacles. If a global land rush is at hand, gambellas rift will not be the last. Attempts to modernize land ownership by giving title either to the peasants who till the soil, or to largescale farming programs, have been tried under imperial rulers like emperor haile selassie, and under marxist regimes like the derg, with mixed results. Historical aspects of landgrab in ethiopia with political. During the land grab, the profiteer burned down many of the residents houses.
Jan 28, 2016 the impact of land grabbing in ethiopia is manifested through five interconnected factors that the regime has designed to sustain its military, political and economic powers in order to protect its brutal and savage governance system for the next quarter or half a century. In october 2008, grain published a report called seized. Lokaley kidewa 2014 largescale land deals in ethiopia. Even though it started earlier, ethiopia s current vegetable and fruit export is very limited as it started earlier than that of the late comer floriculture industry. Population growth and cultivated land in rural ethiopia. Ethiopians talk of violence and land grabs as their homes. Much of the land that these investors have acquired is in the province of gambella, a fertile area that is home to the. Pdf patterns of agrarian transformation in ethiopia. Pdf this paper examines the domestic political economy of socalled land grabbing in ethiopia, assessing the motivations of the ethiopian. This article examines this dynamic in relation to contemporary ethiopia and a specific context of state formation. Indian land grabs in ethiopia show dark side of southsouth cooperation the takeover of peoples land and water by corporations. In africa, there is a huge business in agriculture, and theyre not afraid to steal farm land from the locals. How land grabs hurt africa rights and resources initiative. See foreign direct investment in the agricultural sector in ethiopia, ecofair trade dialogue.
Indian land grabs in ethiopia show dark side of southsouth. There is a current debate regarding the effects of large international investors buying or leasing land in poor countries. Landgrabbing and the right to adequate food in ethiopia 2019 saflii. The drc and ethiopia are two of the three states that have seen the largest amount of their land acquired since 2000. Some of the youngsters in ethiopia kits might find themselves spurred to resist the government, like mr okello and the nairobi refugees.
Eight years after releasing its first report on land grabbing, which put the issue on the international agenda, grain publishes a new dataset documenting nearly 500 cases of land grabbing around the world. Please stay safe, strong and heed public health advisories. In ethiopia, more land grabs, more indigenous people pushed. Causes of flawed expropriation laws and land grabs in ethiopia. Total area of ethiopia agricultural land in ethiopia. This report is part of the oakland institutes oi sevencountry case study project to document and examine land investment deals in africa ethiopia, mali, mozambique, sierra leone, sudan, tanzania, and zambia in order to determine social, economic, and environmental implications of land acquisitions in the developing world. The political economy of agricultural investment in ethiopia published in the journal of peasant studies 391.