Walta Information Centre | 13 October 2011
Addis Ababa, October 13 (WIC) - Charges of land grab in Ethiopia is being used as a political instrument for interference rather than based on facts on the ground, government official says.
Accusations of huge “land grabbing” activities have recently been directed towards some African, Latin American and Asian countries following the 2008 global financial crisis and the hike in food prices.
“Agricultural investment land in Ethiopia is transferred to domestic or foreign investors after all the legal process is observed,” Wondimu Filate, public relations officer at the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), told WIC.
The officer said rural farm lands and lands included for future urbanization, protected areas including national parks and forests, and mining and social practice sites are not being leased for private investors.
“Plots are transferred only after making sure that these and other procedures including environmental impact assessments are conducted,” Wondimu said.
The Ministry of Agriculture is mandated to administer lands having the size of more than 5,000 ha while regional states administer lands less than 5,000 ha and strip lands.
The government of Ethiopia has said that over three million hectares of land is unutilized in the country and welcomes domestic and foreign investors to utilize its resource. However, some groups accuse the government of “land grabbing” activities particularly in the Gambella region.
“In Gambella 225,012 hectares of land is leased by foreign investors with a registered capital of over 46.3 billion birr,” Wondimu said. “These investors have already entered production phase which include rice, cotton and oilseeds”.
“We cannot talk about land grabbing when the investors are actively utilizing the land to increase the agricultural productivity in line with the country’s agricultural development program,” the public relations officer stressed.
Karaturi Global of India and Saudi Star Agriculture Development Plc of Saudi Arabia have leased 100,000 ha and 10,000 ha of land in Gambella region respectively. According to the public relation officer, over 180 domestic investors are also engaged in agricultural production in Gambella region.
“Such agricultural investments have not only created a huge employment opportunities for the local community but also benefits the country as a whole by increasing agricultural productivity and generating income from exports,” Wondimu noted.
To ensure compliance with the country’s laws, the MoA conducts monitoring and evaluation of all agricultural investment activities in the country every three months, the public relations officer said.
With the aim of increasing public awareness surrounding land grabbing issues in Gambella, the MoA has also planned to conduct a media tour accompanied by officials next week.
“We hope the media tour will give media people firsthand observation of the real facts on the ground,” Wondimu said.
Addis Ababa, October 13 (WIC) - Charges of land grab in Ethiopia is being used as a political instrument for interference rather than based on facts on the ground, government official says.
Accusations of huge “land grabbing” activities have recently been directed towards some African, Latin American and Asian countries following the 2008 global financial crisis and the hike in food prices.
“Agricultural investment land in Ethiopia is transferred to domestic or foreign investors after all the legal process is observed,” Wondimu Filate, public relations officer at the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), told WIC.
The officer said rural farm lands and lands included for future urbanization, protected areas including national parks and forests, and mining and social practice sites are not being leased for private investors.
“Plots are transferred only after making sure that these and other procedures including environmental impact assessments are conducted,” Wondimu said.
The Ministry of Agriculture is mandated to administer lands having the size of more than 5,000 ha while regional states administer lands less than 5,000 ha and strip lands.
The government of Ethiopia has said that over three million hectares of land is unutilized in the country and welcomes domestic and foreign investors to utilize its resource. However, some groups accuse the government of “land grabbing” activities particularly in the Gambella region.
“In Gambella 225,012 hectares of land is leased by foreign investors with a registered capital of over 46.3 billion birr,” Wondimu said. “These investors have already entered production phase which include rice, cotton and oilseeds”.
“We cannot talk about land grabbing when the investors are actively utilizing the land to increase the agricultural productivity in line with the country’s agricultural development program,” the public relations officer stressed.
Karaturi Global of India and Saudi Star Agriculture Development Plc of Saudi Arabia have leased 100,000 ha and 10,000 ha of land in Gambella region respectively. According to the public relation officer, over 180 domestic investors are also engaged in agricultural production in Gambella region.
“Such agricultural investments have not only created a huge employment opportunities for the local community but also benefits the country as a whole by increasing agricultural productivity and generating income from exports,” Wondimu noted.
To ensure compliance with the country’s laws, the MoA conducts monitoring and evaluation of all agricultural investment activities in the country every three months, the public relations officer said.
With the aim of increasing public awareness surrounding land grabbing issues in Gambella, the MoA has also planned to conduct a media tour accompanied by officials next week.
“We hope the media tour will give media people firsthand observation of the real facts on the ground,” Wondimu said.
