Socio-economic and Environmental Impacts of Large-Scale Agricultural Investment in Gambella Region, Ethiopia

Ethiopian government uses agricultural investment as one of the most important and effective strategies for economic growth, food security, and poverty reduction in the country. Since the mid-2000s, government has awarded millions of hectares of fertile land to foreign companies. This study explores the impact of large-scale agriculture investment and its consequences to local livelihoods in Gambella Region, Ethiopia. Gambella people's survival and their identity are strongly tied to the land and the rivers that run through it. However, currently, foreign and local investors grab the farm area on an industrial scale and that deprives their livelihoods and increases food insecurity. Moreover, large land acquisition has been tremendous environmental devastation in region such as deforestation, biodiversity depletion, and wetlands drained. Meanwhile, socially, people are largely dependent on international food aid and financial assistance. On the other hand, Large Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLA) lead to forced displacement and "villagization" as a result that smallholder farmers are displaced, pastoralists lose the grazing land, and local people lose incomes and livelihoods. Lastly, in the region, due to land corruption, lack of good governance and transparency, the natural resources are depleted and societies become food insecure. Therefore, Ethiopian government's strategies are on the verge of falling unless integrated approach is not implemented.