Searching for tenure security?: the land system and new policy initiatives in Ethiopia

This study examines broadly the Federal land policy framework as well as legislation pertaining to land issued recently by the four main Killils, namely, Tigrai, Amhara, Oromia and Southern Killil. It also looks into the new initiatives undertaken by the government to address the problems of tenure insecurity, namely user right documentation, underway in Amhara and Tigrai, and resettlement. Critics of the land system have argued that the policy promotes insecurity of tenure because it allows, among other things, periodic redistribution, is inefficient because it constrains land transactions and has inhibited the emergence of a dynamic land market, promotes fragmentation of land and growing pressure on land resources because it discourages rural people from leaving their farms for other employment opportunities; it also gives the state immense power over the farming population because land is state property. The legislations issued by the different Killils are not in harmony with each other or with Federal legislation, and, all except that issued by Oromia, have not sufficiently addressed the main causes of tenure insecurity. One of the new initiatives being tried out in Tigrai and Amhara is user right documentation. Documentation is being undertaken within existing legal and policy frameworks. While it may be too early to judge, it does appear that documentation has promoted a sense of security among peasants who have received the documents. This is to be welcomed. However, the documents do not entitle holders any more benefits than those contained in existing legislations. Holders cannot use the document as collateral to borrow from financial institutions. Documentation has been undertaken for the most part without the use of modern surveying and mapping techniques. Documentation by itself, however well it is undertaken, will not be sufficient to ensure full tenure security. The resettlement program now under way is a cause for great concern. The program is already facing many difficulties because it was carried out without adequate preparation, and under the erroneous assumption that there is plenty of unused arable land in each Killil to accommodate a large settler population. The study concludes by stressing the need for a fresh public debate on the land question, focusing on tenure security (instead of tenure regimes as has been the case in the past) because, despit

Livelihood insecurity among urban households in Ethiopia

This study is based on a survey of households undertaken in the last quarter of 2001 for ILO as part of the project entitled People's Security Survey (PSS). The main objective of PSS was to try to capture people's perceptions and normative values of "livelihood" security. The PSS consists of a research framework developed by ILO focusing on poverty, labor market experience, and access to social protection policies and institutions of representation. The main instrument employed here was an extensive questionnaire originally administered on a sample of 1609 households from both urban and rural areas. For the purposes of the present work, we have removed the rural households in the sample to give the study a wholly urban focus. The present work is thus based on the findings of the survey of 1202 urban households. The towns in which the survey was undertaken were Addis Ababa, Debre Zeit, Mojo and Nazareth. The findings of the study reveal a population that is fearful and anxious about its basic subsistence, which is dependent on low and insecure income, inadequate social services, a shrinking labor market, and which is faced with gloomy prospects. It was evident that the great majority of households are weighed down by livelihood insecurity, with the threat of iv impoverishment and loss of means for basic sustenance hanging over them as a matter of course. The study reveals a great deal ofpessimism on the part of many: pessimism about one's basic security, about employment opportunities, and the chances for self-improvement. Most households are doubtful if there will be economic growth, or if the problem of poverty will be successfully tackled. Respondents were ashed to give their opinion about government programs to reduce poverty on the one hand, and to promote economic growth on the other. Obviously success in reducing poverty and boosting economic growth will have a positive impact on employment and business activity, and respondents were aware that the two issues are closely linked with their own livelihood. A good majority thought that the government's efforts on both counts were unsuccessful: the figures were 64 percent and 59 percent respectively. Only about 28 percent thought the programs were successful

Democratic assistance to post-conflict Ethiopia: impact and limitations

There is a long history of donor relationship with Ethiopia going hack at least to the early 1940s. Since then, the number of bi- and multi-lateral donors providing assistance to the country has grown substantially. At present, the U.S., Japan and the Scandinavian countries are the major bilateral donors, while the World Bank, the EU and agencies in the UN system provide the bulk of the multilateral assistance. The international assistance that was offered to the country with the change of regime may be grouped into three categories: a) development assistance; b) humanitarian assistance; and c) assistance for democratization and good governance. Ethiopia has conducted a number of elections in the post-conflict period, the last one being in 2000. At present, the country is bracing itself for a third round of national elections in 2005. A comparison of election costs for selected African countries with Ethiopia shows that the cost of elections in Ethiopia has been quite low given the country's enormous size and its lack of experience in running democratic elections. Ethiopia has received considerable international electoral assistance since 1991 and such assistance has strengthened the capacity of the National Electoral Board and civil society and human rights organizations in monitoring and supervising elections. Donor assistance has also been provided to political parties to make the electoral process more competitive. However, the impact of such assistance in democratizing the election process has been limited because the ruling party has failed to broaden its political power base and provide a level playing field for all contestants. Human rights and advocacy organizations began to be established for the first time in the country following the fall of the Derg and the change of government. This has meant that the human rights record of the present government has been more systematically monitored and rights violations more extensively compiled than at any time in the past. Donor assistance to human rights has primarily been financial assistance to advocacy organizations on the one hand, and financial support as well as training and technical support to government institutions on the other. Assistance lias been provided for: a) preparatory work for setting up a government human right commission and ombudsman institution; b) reform of legal institutions, and training of law enforcement agencies; c) support to legislative bodies and training of legislators; d) financial support to civil society organizations active in monitoring human rights, human rights protection and advocacy. One of the first acts of the Transitional Government was to enact a press law, which turned out to have a dramatic impact on the country's media. At present, there are a large number of private papers published regularly. However, the free press is faced by a host of problems: structural, economic, and professional. International assistance to the media (both public as well as private) has been limited in scope, and relatively insignificant in terms of its impact. International donors have failed to make a strategic intervention in the media sector and have been limited to low level support with only limited results. Donor assistance to the democratization process in Ethiopia has been comparatively limited. In contrast, donors have invested heavily in the humanitarian and relief effort on the one hand, and in the socioeconomic development sectors on the other. Assistance to both sectors has been growing in the last ten years, and in particular assistance to the humanitarian sector has been increasing markedly in this period. On the other hand, financial support to civil society, especially local human rights and advocacy organizations, has been instrumental in enabling the growth of the voluntary sector in the country. Without such support, civil society would have faced serious difficulties, and its achievements, especially in the areas of human rights monitoring, training and advocacy, would have been more limited. On the other hand, the impact of international assistance on the democratization process in this country has been quite limited. The achievements registered to date in the areas of elections, human rights and press freedom have primarily been a product of local initiative, local organizations, and struggles by stakeholders

Legalising land rights : local practices, state responses and tenure security in Africa, Asia and Latin America

Miljoenen mensen wonen en werken op land waarop zij geen officiC+le rechten hebben. Hun bezit wordt vaak wel beschermd door niet-statelijke rechten die wortelen in lokale gemeenschappen. Ontwikkelingsdeskundigen en donoren hebben lange tijd zulke onofficiC+le regelingen als een hinderpaal voor ontwikkeling gezien en gewerkt aan invoering van individueel eigendom en complexe registratie, teneinde investeringen in land, huis en bedrijfje aan te moedigen en de productiviteit te verhogen. Deze aanpak werkt niet en daarom wordt nu gezocht naar een nieuwe, pluralistischer aanpak die probeert lokale regelingen te erkennen en waar nodig te verbeteren. In dit boek worden zulke nieuwe benaderingen onderzocht. Experts uit acht landen in AziC+, Latijns-Amerika en Afrika behandelen eerst de landwetgeving en -politiek van hun land en komen dan met een concrete gevalstudie van zo'n nieuwe aanpak. Steeds is de vraag wat zo'n nieuwe statelijke aanpak van landrechten betekent in het dagelijkse leven van kleine boeren (ruraal), van bewoners van onofficiC+le stedelijke wijken (urbaan) en van mensen die onder de rook van de stad wonen en werken (peri-urbaan). Hoe zeker voelen zij zich nu van hun rechten (tenure security), kennen ze de nieuwe regeling en kunnen ze zich er effectief op beroepen (legal empowerment), werken de overheidsinstanties controleerbaar (control of bureaucrats)? Millions of people live and work on land that they do not legally own in accordance with enforceable state law. The absence of state recognition for local property rights affects people's tenure security and impedes development. Efforts to legalise extra-legal land tenure have traditionally emphasised individual titling and registration. Disappointment with such approaches have led to a search for 'a third way' in land tenure regulation that will reconcile state perspectives with local land rights. This book contributes to the quest for a new pluralistic approach. It combines the description of land tenure regimes in Africa, Latin America and Asia with an analysis of designs, objectives, and actual implementation of specific legalisation programmes. This allows for conclusions on the relationship between various kinds of legalisations and tenure security and the challenges to improve the design and implementation of legalisation programmes9789048506699 (eisbn

Farmers as experts: interpreting the "hidden" messages of participatory video across African contexts

Recent scholarship has contributed important insights into the political dynamics inherent in the process of making and showing participatory videos (PV). As a research method and an instrument for social change, participatory video has both potential and limitations for overturning the power dynamics embedded within research and in development processes. This paper focuses on experiences of incorporating participatory video in land management projects in four countries in Africa. Along with other participatory methods, the videos represented an effort to include community perspectives and objectives into the research process. Analysis of PV has largely focused on examining the tensions and contradictions involved in the process of making participatory videos. There has been less focus on the content of the videos themselves and what it might suggest for empowerment, voice and representation. This paper attempts to address this gap by examining the implications of the narratives that emerge in five different videos. On the surface, the participants appear to repeat dominant national and global narratives about land degradation. However, the fact that farmers present themselves as experts on these topics and the ways in which they appropriate and reconfigure the dominant narratives, can be seen as an act of empowerment. In this way, they preclude the need for external intervention on how to manage their resources

How Farmers Cope with Risk and Stress in Rural Gambia

SUMMARY With climatic, economic and social changes, poor farm households in The Gambia have tended to become more vulnerable. They face problems of multiple risks, including low, short and uncertain rainfall, price fluctuations, and variable access to markets and food, compounded by regular seasonal stresses, especially during the rains before harvest. To minimise risk and cope with stress their strategies include choices of cropping patterns, crop storage, reduced consumption, off?farm work, asset disposal, and community and kinship ties. Interventions should be designed to reduce their vulnerability. Resumé Comment les petits exploitants en Gambia rurale, fontils face aux risques et aux pressions qu'ils encourent Avec les changements climatiques, économiques et sociaux, les familles d'exploitants les plus pauvres en Gambie, ont tendance à devenir plus vulnérable. Ils font face à des problèmes qui présentent des risques multiples, y compris des saisons de pluie faibles, courtes et incertaines, des fluctuations de prix, un accès variable au marché des denrées alimentaires, le tout renforcé par un stress saisonnier régulier, particulièrement pendant les pluies avant la récolte. Pour minimiser les risques et faire face au stress, ils comptent au nombre de leur stratégies, différentes possibilités dans le choix de leur mode de culture, dans la manière dont ils emmagasinent leurs produits agricoles, plus l'option de reduire leur consommation, de prendre un emploi dehors de leur exploitation, de disposer de leurs possessions et enfin le recours à leurs liens avec la communauté et leur parenté. Les interventions devraient être conçues de manière à réduire leur vulnérabilité. Resumen Estrategias campesinas para enfrentar el riesgo y la tensión en el área rural de Gambia En Gambia, los hogares campesinos pobres se han hecho más vulnerables a causa de los cambios climáticos, económicos y sociales. Ellos enfrentan problemas de riesgo mùltiple, incluyendo bajas y cortas caídas de agua, así como acceso inestable a los mercados y el alimento, en un contexto de tensiones estacionales regulares, especialmente durante las lluvias previas a la cosecha. Las estrategias utilizadas para minimizar el riesgo y enfrentar las tensiones incluyen opciones en el patrón de cultivos, almacenamiento de éstos, reducción del consumo, trabajo fuera de la granja, disposición de las posesiones, así como lazos comunitarios y familiares. Las intervenciones que se postulen deberían consultar la reducción de su vulnerabilidad

Survival Strategies and Power amongst the Poorest in a West Bengal Village

SUMMARY Focusing on ‘people's history’ challenges the assumption that poor people are passive, followers, or apolitical, by identifying ways in which poor people are makers of their own histories. By adapting a ‘people's history’ approach to the geographical study of one village in West Bengal, and concentrating particularly on survival strategies used by poorest women and children, this article shows that the rural poorest are active in an informal economy through which they operate much of their business, and that they have clear views on the characteristics of rich people. Survival strategies considered include the use of common property resources; changes in consumption patterns; share?rearing of livestock; and mutual support networks. Each is put in the context of a wider literature, and policy implications evaluated to determine the possibility of external support for such indigenous coping mechanisms. Resumé Stratégies de survie et pouvoir parmi les catégories sociales les plus démunies du Bengale de l'Ouest Prendre comme point de départ ‘l'histoire individuelle’ remet en question l'hypothèse que les pauvres sont passifs, soumis et sans conviction politique, lorsque l'on identifie les différentes manières dont ils ont construit leur propre destin. Par l'adaptation de l'approche qui prend en considération les données d'une ‘histoire personnelle’, et son utilisation dans l'analyse géographique d'un village du Bengale de l'Ouest qui se concentre tout particulièrement sur les stratégies développées par les femmes et les enfants les plus pauvres afin de survivre, cet article démontre que les pauvres dans l'environment rural sont actifs dans le secteur informal de l'économie dans lequel ils conduisent la plupart de leurs affaires, et qu'ils ont une perspective claire sur les caractéristiques des gens riches. Les stratégies de survie analysées comprennent l'exploitation des ressources des propriétés communales, les changements dans les rythmes de consommation, le partage des tâches dans le domaine de l'élevage, et des réseaux de support mutuel. Chacune de ces stratégies présentée dans le contexte d'une littérature plus élaborée, et dans celui des conséquences des mesures prises et réalisées, est évaluée de manière à déterminer les possibilités d'une aide externe à chacun de ces mécanismes de défense utilisés. Resumen Estrategias de sobrevivencia y poder entre los más pobres en una aldea de Bengala Occidental El enfoque “historia de la gente” desafía el supuesto de que los despodeídos son pasivos, sumisos y apolíticos, mediante la identificación de vías a través de las cuales estas personas hacen su propia historia. Este artículo adapta el enfoque “historia de la gente” a un estudio geográfico de una aldea de Bengala occidental, concentrándose especialmente en las estrategias de sobrevivencia usadas por mujeres y niños desposeídos demostrando que en el área rural los más pobres son activos en una economía informal a través de la cual operan la mayor parte de sus quehaceres y que tienen visiones claras sobre las características de los ricos. Las estrategias de sobrevivencia consideradas incluyen el uso de racursos de propiedad comunitaria, cambios en los patrones de consumo, crianza del ganado compartida y redes mutuales de apoyo. Cada una es colocada en el contexto de una literatura amplia e implicaciones políticas evaluadas para determinar la posibilidad de obtener apoyo externo para estos mecanismos de lucha nativos

Pursuing climate resilient coffee in Ethiopia – a critical review

This paper provides a multi-scalar examination of the Ethiopian coffee sector and its pursuit of climate resilience. Concern is growing about the potential impact of climate change on Arabica coffee in Ethiopia and the 25 million livelihoods it supports. Arabica coffee has a relatively narrow envelope of climatic suitability and recent studies suggest that the area of bioclimatically suitable space for the species in its native Ethiopia could decline dra- matically in the coming decades. We adopt a critical perspective on resilience that reflects on the situated nature of the ecology/science of coffee and climate change and the operation of social, economic, and discursive power across scales, paying particular attention to the differentiated impacts of climate change and associated resi- lience strategies. This analysis begins by reviewing Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green Economy strategy and argues that the current lack of attention to coffee is inappropriate considering the coffee sector’s vulnerability to climate change, economic importance and association with forests. The paper then examines the contemporary coffee sector which provides the context for reflecting on three potential responses to the threat climate change poses; a spatial response from farmers, adaptive farm management responses such as changing shade levels and the development of the country’s genetic resources to cultivate improved varieties. The analysis explores the disconnect between the interventions emerging from national and international institutions and the local con- text. The multi-scale approach highlights the presence of complex normative trade-offs associated with pursing climate resilience strategies and reinforces the importance of appreciating the dynamics which influence deci- sion-making in the country