The Socio-Political Dynamics of New Migrant-Labour Brokers in Shashemene, Ethiopia

The change in the scale and functions of towns in Africa is accompanied by evolving institutional socio-economic practices. In this paper I will address brokerage and the recruitment of new migrant labour in the town of Shashemene, Ethiopia. Brokering migrant labour is a relatively lucrative economic activity in the town and competition among the brokers to attract new labour migrants is intensive. Claims over the brokerage system involve processes of negotiations, grouping, cooperation and c..

Soil conservation, land use and property rights in northern Ethiopia

Land resources are key aspects in food production and livelihood systems for the majority of the population of developing countries. For these reasons promotion of sustainable management of agricultural land resources is, and will continue to be, of concern to a range of actors: the public, the state, donor agencies, the scientific community and not the least the smallholders themselves. Major initiatives to address such concerns are soil and water conservation programmes. It is, however, widely recognised that conservation programmes are faced with many challenges. Conservation programmes often incur heavy costs, rely heavily on external resources, often encounter failures and have a poor record as regards sustainability. All these features indicate challenges for future approaches to sustainable use of land resources. This thesis aims to address these challenges in a broader perspective. It explores the discourse of conservation research and how such a discourse shapes intervention in smallholder farming systems. This study indicates that although research related to the physical environment has been central in the initiation and implementation of environmental policies and conservation efforts, the evidence about the physical environments tend to be cursory and not sufficiently explained. Three interrelated aspects have emerged empirically that address the context, processes, challenges and prospects of land degradation in Tigray; livelihood, dwelling and land tenure. The livelihood system encompasses concepts not only of the agricultural use value of the land but also how land use itself is situated in broader social relationships. Specific institutionalised practices, such as sharecropping, explain how management aspects of the land enter productive relationships among the villagers. The dwelling aspect, being a broader part of the relations and commitments of the villagers to their landscape, explains the structures of villagers’ perceptions and values in relation to the land, and the connection between perceptions and values in relation to landscape diversity. The land tenure systems are egalitarian and have provided villagers with user rights to land. Nonetheless, the tenure systems are poor in promoting farm integrity, security, ownership and transfer of land resources. The thesis also shows that, although conservation interventions aim to benefit people, the people and their institutions are often not central in interventions. Conservation interventions have not been conceptualised in a way that allows villagers to take on central roles. Rural people have often been conceived as conservationist, producers and/or land managers. The inclusion of people as social actors, with multiple objectives and social roles is a perspective that needs to be considered in future intervention approaches in order to attain sustainable management of the land

Land consolidation, canals and apps : reshaping agriculture in Ethiopia

Over the last 15 years, Ethiopia has seen remarkable economic growth. The agricultural sector is part of this growth, but its proportional contribution to the overall economy has gone down. There is an urgent need to transform Ethiopian agriculture, not least when it comes to the inefficient land laws that impede young people from investing in farmland. This policy note identifies the structural problems that constrain such a transformation and gives recommendations on how they can be addressed

Costly not to consider local resistance : Advice on agricultural investments in Africa

Failures in considering and properly addressing local resistance have become costly for both the local people and the investors. Land acquisition policies need to be accompanied by mechanisms that address local grievances and conflicts. These aspects are crucial not only to alleviate unjust practices, but also to enhance confidence of investors and performance of the investments

Small farms under stress play a huge role for Africa : smallholder agriculture and emerging global challenges

Widespread poverty as well as food and income insecurity plague Africa’s dominant smallholder agriculture. Paradoxically, the very people who mainly depend on agriculture are not able to secure their own food and nutrition needs. Today, three-quarters of Africa’s malnourished children and the majority of people living in absolute poverty are found among the smallholder farmers who are key to the development of the continent

Gênero, mobilidade e meios de subsistência em uma cidade etíope pré-revolucionária

This paper explores the interrelationship between gender, ethnicity, migration/mobility and livelihood opportunities in the urban area of Shashemene in Southern Ethiopia in the period immediately prior to the end of the Ethiopian Empire in 1974. The major finding is that gender is a determining social factor in the mobility and livelihood opportunities of individuals. A striking result from the study is that livelihood alternatives were “urban” to a relatively small extent. Most persons found a living in activities that are to be found in rural as well as in urban areas. For men, ethnicity provides a mediating factor whereas the mobility and livelihood patterns for women are less differentiated by ethnic identity. Individual mobility is characterised both by urban-urban and rural-urban movements. In a study carried out in 1973, women had spent less number of years migrating when they arrived at Shashemene compared to their male counterparts. Similarly, the average number of new places, where they resided for at least one year, was fewer for women than for men. Our results also indicate differences in the migration/mobility rates of women and men across ages. Women’s migration seems to drop abruptly after the age 25. In general, the mobile period of life was shorter for women than for men.This paper explores the interrelationship between gender, ethnicity, migration/mobility and livelihood opportunities in the urban area of Shashemene in Southern Ethiopia in the period immediately prior to the end of the Ethiopian Empire in 1974. The major finding is that gender is a determining social factor in the mobility and livelihood opportunities of individuals. A striking result from the study is that livelihood alternatives were “urban” to a relatively small extent. Most persons found a living in activities that are to be found in rural as well as in urban areas. For men, ethnicity provides a mediating factor whereas the mobility and livelihood patterns for women are less differentiated by ethnic identity. Individual mobility is characterised both by urban-urban and rural-urban movements. In a study carried out in 1973, women had spent less number of years migrating when they arrived at Shashemene compared to their male counterparts. Similarly, the average number of new places, where they resided for at least one year, was fewer for women than for men. Our results also indicate differences in the migration/mobility rates of women and men across ages. Women’s migration seems to drop abruptly after the age 25. In general, the mobile period of life was shorter for women than for men.Este artigo explora as inter-relações entre gênero, etnia, migração/mobilidades e oportunidades de subsistência na área urbana de Shashemene no sul da Etiópia, logo no período anterior ao fim do Império da Etiópia, em 1974. A principal constatação é que o gênero é um fator social determinante para a mobilidade e oportunidades de subsistência dos indivíduos. Um resultado surpreendente do estudo é que as alternativas de sobrevivência foram, em grau relativamente pequeno, “urbanas”. A maioria das pessoas que se encontravam em atividades estavam na zona rural, bem como em áreas urbanas. Para os homens, a etnia representa um fator de mediação, enquanto os padrões de mobilidade e meios de subsistência para as mulheres são menos diferenciados pela identidade étnica. A mobilidade individual é caracterizada tanto por movimentos ”urbano-urbano” e ”rural-urbano”. Em um estudo realizado em 1973, constatou-se que as mulheres passaram um menor número de anos migrando quando chegaram em Shashemene em comparação aos seus homólogos masculinos. Da mesma forma, o número médio de novos lugares onde residiram durante pelo menos um ano, foi menor para as mulheres. Nossos resultados também indicam diferenças entre as taxas de homens e mulheres em todas as idades de migração/mobilidade. A migração das mulheres parece cair abruptamente depois dos 25 anos de idade. Em geral, seu período móvel de vida é mais curto do que para os homens

Ethiopia in the United Nations Security Council 2017-2018

Enforce the ‘African solutions to African problems’ principle in the UN and promote cooperation with the African Union and its regional communities. That is what Ethiopia should work for during its two-year term in the Security Council. To perform on this global stage, the Ethiopian government has to address its domestic democracy and governance issues

African Agriculture and The World Bank : Development or Impoverishment?

African smallholder family farming, the backbone of the continental economy throughout the colonial and early post-colonial period, has been destabilized and eroded over the past thirty years. Despite the World Bank’s poverty alleviation concerns, agrarian livelihoods continue to unravel under the impact of economic liberalization and global value chains. Can African smallholders bounce back and compete? The World Development Report 2008 argues they can and must. How realistic is this given the history of World Bank conditionality in Africa? This essay explores the productivity and welfare concerns of Africa’s smallholder farming population in the shadow of the World Bank.CONTENTS -- World Bank Policy and the WDR 2008 -- African Development Policies over the Last 25 Years Land Rights, Markets and Capital -- Institutional Supports for African Smallholder Agriculture -- African Rural Agency in Response to Global Market Pressures -- Reading Between the Lines of the WDR 2008: African Smallholders’ Rural Future</p

Biofuels, land grabbing and food security in Africa /

Examines the effects of large-scale biofuel production, seen as having a positive impact on African national economies and greenhouse gases. Finds negative implications as well, especially in developmental and environmental areas.Includes bibliographical references (p. 206-220) and index.Grabbing of African lands for energy and food : implications for land rights, food security and smallholders / Kjell Havnevik -- Biofuel governance : a matter of discursive and actor intermesh / Marie Widengård -- Peak oil and climate change : triggers of the drive for biofuel production / Rune Skarstein -- Attracting foreign direct investment in Africa in the context of land grabbing for biofuels and food security / Prosper B. Matondi and Patience Mutopo -- Smallholder-led transformation towards biofuel production in Ethiopia / Atakilte Beyene -- Biofuel, land and environmental issues : the case of SEKAB's biofuel plans in Tanzania / Kjell Havnevik and Hanne Haaland -- Agro-investments in Zimbabwe at a time of redistributive land reforms / Prosper B. Matondi -- Competition between biofuel and food? : evidence from a jatropha biodiesel project in Northern Ghana / Festus Boamah -- Conclusion : land grabbing, smallholder farmers and the meaning of agro-investor-driven agrarian change in Africa / Prosper B. Matondi, Kjell Havnevik and Atakilte Beyene.Examines the effects of large-scale biofuel production, seen as having a positive impact on African national economies and greenhouse gases. Finds negative implications as well, especially in developmental and environmental areas."Nordiska Afrikainstitutet = The Nordic Africa Institute.