Impacts of land leases in Oromia, Ethiopia: Changes in access to livelihood resources for local people

• Published in: Land use policy 2020-09, Vol.97, p.104713, Article 104713
• Main Author: Wayessa, Gutu Olana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Animal husbandry; Crop production; Economic conditions; Empirical analysis; Ethiopia; Land; Land use; Large-Scale land deals; Leases; Livelihood; Livelihoods; Livestock; Mean comparison; Oromia; Political ecology; Production; State-society relations
• ISSN: 0264-8377; 1873-5754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104713

Large-scale land deals have attracted considerable attention for various reasons, including their implications for local livelihoods. While some view the phenomena as a development opportunity, encompassing improvement in the livelihoods of local people, others argue that it is an impoverishing scheme. Ethiopia ranks among the top in terms of the size of land leased out over the last decade. Land is a major resource of state control and investment in Ethiopia. As the foundation of their livelihoods and identity, it is simultaneously a vital resource for the local people. Highlighting the importance of land for local livelihoods and state-society relations and employing a political-ecological approach, this paper analyzes the outcomes of two land lease cases for the local people in Bakko Tibbe district of Oromia, Ethiopia. The findings show that the land leases induced a significant decline in local people’s access to land, resulting in a significant reduction in crop production and livestock husbandry. The land leases also dismantled longstanding land-based social relations in both production systems. Based on empirical evidence from specific localities and contextualizing the local livelihood dynamics within broader political-economic conditions, this study contributes to the ongoing debate on livelihood impacts of global land deals.