FSS releases new research publication on land and landlessness in Ethiopia
June 22, 2018-ADDIS ABABA-Forum for Social Studies (FSS) this week released a new research publication dealing with the issue of land and landlessness in Ethiopia.
The research publication comes as a culmination of a three year research and publication project implemented by FSS under the general theme of: Land, Landlessness and Poverty in Ethiopian Regions, which was financed by USAID through its project called Land Administration to Nurture Development (LAND).
The new research publication titled: LAND, LANDLESSNESS AND POVERTY IN ETHIOPIA: RESEARCH Findings from Four National Regional States contains proceedings of a workshop organized in Addis Ababa by FSS in July 2016, and covers findings from four National Regional States namely: Amhara, Tigray, Oromia, and Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s (SNNP) Regional States. The research book was edited by Ato Desalegn Rahmato, a renowned scholar and a senior research fellow at FSS who coordinated the research project commissioned by FSS.
The four researches reveal increased landlessness in the rural areas of the study regions that has come about as a result of urbanization, industrialization and the growing sub-divisions of plots in response to growing population pressure. According to the research findings, the resulting pressure is making poverty and vulnerability especially acute in the four study regions, and that this is making poor farmers feel threatened regarding their rights to land, and are apprehensive about the concomitant risks these pose to their livelihoods.
In implementing the research project, FSS assigned four lead researchers who were deployed in their respective study areas to engage in deep research and analysis of the issues related to the above mentioned objectives, including the historical context and policy options. The four completed researches were:
- Land, Landlessness and Poverty in the Amhara Region Regional State — by Dr. Tadesse Amsalu, Bahir Dar University
- Land, Landlessness and Rural Poverty in Oromia Regional State — by Dr. Fekadu Adugna, Addis Ababa University
- Land and Rural Livelihood Security: A Case Study in SNNPR — by Dr. Teketel Abebe, Private Consultant; and
- Land, Landlessness and Poverty in Tigrai Regional State — by Dr. Gebreyohannes Girmay, Mekelle University.
The book is now on sale at cost of printing at FSS Library (new FSS building in Kebena, on the street between Sanford International School and Catholic Kidanemehret Church), and at other major Book Stores, including Addis Ababa University Book Centre, Universal Book Shop, Book World, Book Corner and Ankeboot Book Shop.