Grants and residencies

Research

Large-scale land deals and local livelihoods in Ethiopia: A political ecology of a contested scheme

Application summary

Large-scale land deals between African states and foreign investors are among the most challenging development issues of today, leading to a substantial reconfiguration of access to land and land-based social relations. Ethiopia ranks among the top in terms of the size of land leased out during the last decade. While some see such investments as vital for economic transformation, others view it as a “land grabbing” and impoverishing scheme. These competing framings should be substantiated by empirical evidence showing the implications of such transactions for local livelihoods. The study critically examines the premises forwarded and the promises pledged by the government and investment companies on the one hand, and the realities lived by the local people on the other. It employs political ecology as a theoretical framework, constituted of power relations in decision-making processes and distributive justices in relation to outcomes, i.e. the distribution of costs and benefits. It employs a mixed-methods approach, involving a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The primary data, to be collected using household survey, interviews, and focus-group discussions, will be complemented with systematic content analysis of secondary data. The study aims to provide new insights into the relationships between land rights, local livelihoods, and global investments relevant for future development research and policy.

The research project, titled “Large-scale land deals and local livelihoods in Ethiopia: A political ecology of a contested scheme,” was undertaken from 2020 to 2024. It was set out to analyze the implications of large-scale land deals on local livelihoods in Ethiopia. Large-scale land deals between African states and foreign investors are among the most challenging development issues of today, leading to a substantial reconfiguration of access to land and land-based social relations. Ethiopia ranks among the top in terms of the size of land leased out in recent decades. The project aimed to provide empirical evidence on the competing narratives surrounding land deals and investments, which are often framed as either vital for economic transformation or as a form of “land grabbing” that impoverishes local communities. It critically examined the premises presented and the promises made by the government and investment companies, as well as the realities experienced by the local people.

The study employed a political ecology framework to analyze power relations in decision-making processes and the distributive implications and outcomes of land deals. It utilized a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, including household surveys, interviews, focus-group discussions, and secondary data. The research delivered rich and contextualized empirical evidence on the relationships between land rights, local livelihoods, state-people relations, and global investments, contributing to future development research and policy.

The outputs of the research project include several articles published in reputable scientific journals, such as Land Use Policy, World Development Perspectives, European Journal of Development Research, Northeast African Studies, and other publication outlets. Moreover, there are forthcoming book chapters accepted for publication in two books, including The SAGE Handbook of Eco-Social Policy and Politics.

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