The perils of development from above: land deals in Ethiopia

Abstract

The paper examines Ethiopia's program of large-scale land investments with special emphasis on the rapid expansion of these investments between 2008 and 2011 when huge tracts of agricultural land were leased out to foreign and domestic investors over a short period of time. It is estimated that the total land ceded to investors from the mid-1990s to the end of 2011 may be in the order of 3.00–3.5 million hectares. I shall present a discussion of the program in the context of the government's grand strategy of state-led development, followed by an examination of the serious difficulties the program is presently facing. State-led development is characterized by emphasis on large-scale public investment and huge public debt which has damaging implications for people's livelihoods and has led to a non-inclusive and skewed growth path. Land investment, it is argued, is one among a number of public sector initiatives meant to enhance the country's export market and contribute to the growing demand for state accumulation. The real needs of the country on the other hand are poverty reduction and food security which the program does not address to any significant degree. It is further argued that the problems faced by the program are not solely caused by poor governance and lack of capacity but raise questions of policy choice and democratic decision-making. State-led development enhances the power of the state and exacerbates the vulnerabilities of small producers in the rural areas whose lands are increasingly being threatened by expropriation.

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