ABSTRACT
The objective of the chapter titled “The post-1991 land and agrarian developments” is meant to investigate land and agrarian conditions during FDRE. Sources employed for the reconstruction of this part are mainly oral accounts, literature and above all else empirical evidences. Exposure of the author to the study area and the progressing situation of events make the chapter unique. The existing sources are gathered between 2015 and 2017 from Arssi and other areas. The available sources have been duly analyzed, cross- and counter-checked following historical research methods. Yet, it should be underlined that as this study period is still evolving, there has been a shortage of sources. The early years of EPRDF in Arssi and other Oromo areas were times of some disorders and chaos. There were ethnic conflicts and political wrangling. First of all, the power vacuum created following the departure of the PDRE’s President, Colonel Mängestu was followed by attack on institutions associated with the Därg regime. The objective of the attack was mixed: some for vengeance against the defunct regime. Some did it for looting while still others were involved just for vandalism. Some even took land of state farms and their equipment. Of these early problems, the Arbaa Guuguu awraja’s ethnic conflict was the most troubling one. It had led to the death of many people, a tremendous destruction of wealth and the displacement of people. Such conflicts apparently emanated from political tension among the political parties of the time that made up ETG. Among others, OLF, OPDO and IFLO were in a leading position in present Oromia in general and Arssi (including Arbaa Guuguu) in particular. Conditions came to normalcy after a number of severe clashes in some urban and rural areas of Arssi and other Oromo areas. This continued in both urban and rural areas of Arssi until OLF withdrew suddenly from the government and left the country in 1992. No doubt this had negative impact on the political economy of land and agrarian development in the country in general and Arssi in particular. There was policy gap largely up to 1994. As far as land and agrarian development was concerned, it was the adoption of the constitution which answered the issue of land. The constitution stipulates that land would be public property. That means the Därg land tenure policy would be maintained. But agricultural policies and strategies were changed in favour of small-scale peasant agriculture, which was not the case hitherto under the two preceding regimes. ADLI was adopted in 1994 and much has been exerted to support small-scale peasant agriculture, which had not been the case in the past. Subsequently, the livelihood of many peasants has been changed. But there has been critical land shortage mainly because of demographic pressure and absence of land redistribution. The youth and peasants who did not get land during the Därg times remained landless. Despite land shortage for peasants or rural population themselves, land continued to be taken by investors, pseudo-investors and land speculators. The unjust land seizure led to insecurity of land holding rights among the rural population. Thus, desperate measures were taken to have access to land for survival. These conditions have been accumulated over years and led to the Oromia protest that broke out in November 2015. Since 2017, the government has been taking several measures to curb the problem of landlessness, joblessness and unjust land grabbing. It is the finding and recommendation of this chapter that the government better listen genuinely to as many stakeholders as possible, especially the rural population and even the opposition voices. Otherwise, let alone meeting the MDGs, food shortage itself, which has been still hovering around, will not go away. To continue with some promising achievements so far attained after 1991, participatory and inclusive measures be taken socially, politically and economically.
