The Nature of Land Tenure and Land Market In A Periurban Area
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Date
2002-06
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Addis Ababauniversity
Abstract
Conceptually, this study relates to the terms and conditions on which land is
held and used and, the mechanisms by which rights to land are transferred in
rural and urban interface area. The specific objective is to explore the major
kinds and features of the land tenure and land markets operating in the periurban
areas of Addis, the processes by which land held by indigenous
peasant communities is transferred to urban groups, major characteristics of
parlies transacting and factors governing the performance of the land tenure
and land markets. The study also seeks to fill gap of understanding of the
contradictions and frictions that exist at the interface of rural and urban.
Broadly speaking two different forms of tenure prevailed in the study areas.
These are peasant holder land tenure and the modern lease tenure. The
lands of the study areas are rented to fellow peasants or sold to urban
moneybags by the peasants and leased to modern private business/industrial
men by government. With regard to the rental tenure the 'landlords ' (i.e
renters) are the poor while the 'tenants ' (i.e rentees) are the betfer-offs among
the peasant farmers themselves. Parallel to this, modern urban
industrial!commercial investors are acquiring peri-urban lands by lease. This
indicates that the system of land tenure in the peri-urban areas shows
distinction between urban rich and rural inhabitants on the one hand, and
between the rich and poor within the rural groups. Peri-urban area peasant
holders have been victims of frequent land redistribution,. forced cooperetivasation,
villagization, etc of the Derg time. Now they are victims of
lease tenure. While the urban elites enjoy security of tenure for the number of
years specified in the lease contracts the indigenous peasant appear
temporary holders.
With regard to the land markets, the peri-urban areas are characterized by
intense urban and agricultural land transactions. The lands of the study areas
are rented to fellow peasants or sold to urban moneybags by the peasants or
leased to modern private businessmen by the government. Neither the
peasant holders are capable to withstand the pressures of land markets,
whether for their own poverty and/or manipulation of land speculators or the
urban elite, neither the PA or above level leadership found withstanding their
manipulation (bribery). While those in rural Ethiopia have, at least, the
opportunity for being agricultural labour force or tenants to individuals who
have purchased their plots or daily labourers on agricultural investment
projects formally acquired their holdings, the impacted peri-urban
communities haven1. They have neither the skill nor the training/education or
experience required in modern non-agricultural developments emerging in
their localities. The markets are segmented into urban and rural, rich and
poor, male and female and, formal and informal markets. Unless the
circumstance faced by the peri-urban area peasant communities is
responsibly treated and the problems resolved not only their condition
deteriorates but also mass eviction will be likely in the near future
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Keywords
Land Market In A Periurban Area