Foreign Direct Investment In Farmland And Land Rights Of Pastoralists In Ethiopia A Quest For Balance

The FDRE Constitution gave pastoralists communal use right and protection againstrndisplacement, however, in subsidiary land laws, the Government has adopted a contrary positionrnand declared itself the owner of rural communal lands which it gives and takes back as it deemsrnfit. One effect of this is manifested in relation to foreign large-scale farmland investment and thernGovernment has already allocated large areas of pastoral lands for the purpose of the investmentrnin a way that is affecting the right and interest of pastoralists. Triggered by these, various studiesrnhave analyzed the investment and argued for the land right of pastoralists and against thernexpropriation of pastoral lands for the purpose of the investment. However, no single study hasrntried to see from development perspective, whether there is a way the investment and right ofrnpastoralists can complement rather than contradict each other, as it has been the case so far.rnThus, the main issue addressed in this study is whether these two concepts can find a middlernground when analyzed from the perspective of pastoralists’ right to development and thernobligation of the Government towards pastoralists’ and the nation as a whole. By analyzing thernrelevant legal frameworks with empirical data and interview responses; this study contends thernreason for contradiction so far lies in the Government’s failure to adhere to the legalrnrequirements rather than the simple act of pastoral land expropriation for the purpose ofrninvestment. Specifically, the major findings are, the decision to and the manner of land allocationrndisregards the occupancy and landholding right of pastoralists; is not based on a study thatrncompares the viability of pastoralism or the investment for each instance, thus purely overrnprivileging the latter and denying the former a chance to be considered as one viable land use; isrndriven by the unfounded perceptions and targets of the anti-pastoralism thinking and the aim ofrnimposing the Government’s own notion of development on pastoralists than the legitimate aim ofrndevelopment and development activities and the manner of allocation goes against the proceduralrnright to development and the procedures for expropriation. Therefore, if the Government makesrnthe necessary shifts by adhering to the relevant laws’, a balance can be struck between therninvestment and land right and interest of pastoralists. Such a balanced understanding is importantrnas pushing for the investment at the expense of the right of pastoralists’ and vice versa, is leadingrnto the destruction of both as experience to date shows.

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