FSC in dialog: Land grabbing in Ethiopia

April 30, 2013

The study "Do land transfers to international investors in Ethiopia contribute to local food security?" was presented and discussed by Bamlaku Alamirew Alemu, a postdoctoral scholar of FSC from the College of Development Studies of the Addis Ababa University, on April 30.
Ethiopia is one of the top ten countries which lease a large tract of land to international investors. While the government argues that it creates opportunities for employment, foreign exchange reserves and technology transfer, there are concerns about local level impacts. This study focuses on local level contributions of large-scale farms in Ethiopia taking two villages as cases. The findings of this study are believed to add information to the literature about the problems local communities of host countries are facing in terms of access to and control over resources, employment, and technology transfer and food security.