Dessalegn Rahmato THE PEASANT AND THE STATE Studies in Agrarian Change in Ethiopia 1950s-2000s /Addis Ababa University Press ll. j n ^ V 1^ ' 3 . 4 iAAft' C^ U THE PEASANT AND THE STATE SOME AAUP BOOKS CURRENTLY IN PRINT • MJrtKC IM-Nl*; +C1-r • Balsvik. R. 2007 The Quest for • Bahru Zewde. 2002. Pioneers of MC h rn fe o - hflA" BluS Expression: The State and the Chmge in Ethiopia: The ‘i.r- hot riAh u>d-T+ JC University In Ethiopia under Three Reformist Intellectuals of the • Solomon Tadesse. 2008. Mineral Regimes. 1952-2005. Early Twentieth Century, Resources Potential of Ethiopia Br. 15.00 Co-published with James Cuney ■ Bahru Zcwde. 2008. Society, State • Mulugeta Eteffa 2007. The Bitter Publishers, Oxford & Ohio and History: Selected Essays Honey University Press, Athens Br. 95.00 Br. 25 .00 Br. 40.00 • Demissu Gemeda and Seid ■ Tsegaye Tegenu 2006. 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Dessalegn Rahmato THE PEASANT AND THE STATE Studies in Agrarian Change in Ethiopia 1950s-2000s Published by the Addis Ababa University Press Addis Ababa University Press P.O. Box 1176 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Tel.+ 251-011-123 97 46 Fax.+ 251-011-124 32 91 E-mail: [email protected] © The Author and Addis Ababa University Press, 2009 ISBN 978-99944-52-24-8 First Published by Custom Books Publishing, 2008 Published by Addis Ababa University Press, 2009 Printed in Ethiopia by Berhanena Selam Printing Enterprise Also by Dessalegn Rahmato Agrarian Reform in Ethiopia (1985) ISBN 91-7106-226-2 Famine and Survival Strategies: A Case Study o f Northeast Ethiopia (1991) ISBN 91-7106-314-5 Land Tenure and Land Policy in Ethiopia After the Derg (Edited, 1994) ISBN 82-90817-08-8 Dentocratisation and International Assistance to Post-Conflict Ethiopia: Impact and Limitations. (Co-authored) Addis Ababa: Forum for Social Studies 2004 Contents List of Tables viii List o f Annexes ix List of Maps ix Notes ix Acknowledgment x Acronyms xi INTRODUCTION 13 1 Peasants and Rural Policies 27 Agriculture under the Imperial Regime 2 Commercial Farming 81 The Failure of Agrarian Capitalism 3 Land and Agrarian Unrest in Wollo 111 From the Imperial Regime to the Derg 4 Land Registration and Tenure Security 181 A Critical Assessment 5 Land, Local Governance and Rights Advocacy 229 Roadblocks to Peasant Empowerment 6 The Peasant and the State 283 Hegemony and Agrarian Change CONCLUSIONS 346 Tables, Annexes and Maps Tables 1.1 Crop Yield for Selected Years 2.2 Redistribution of Peasantry 1940-1970 2.3 Exports by Value 1972,1952 2.4 Yield Figures for Selected Crops with or without Modem Inputs 1.1 Total Land Area under Mechanization up to 1975 1.2 Area Cultivated in the Awash Valley 1.3 Cultivated Land Controlled by Ali Mirra 1.4 Production of Selected Crops in Awash Valley 1.5 Holdings of Chillalo Commercial Farmers 1.6 Class Background of Select Commercial Farmers 1.1 Unmeasured Land in Wollo by Tenure 4.1 Peasant Awareness of Land Laws, Dessic Zuria (%) 4.2 Peasant Views of Future Land Redistribution, Dcssic Zuria 4.3 Peasant Views on whether Land will be Take Away, Dcssic Zuria 5.1 Voluntary Organizations at the Kebcllc and Wared a Level 6.1 Percentage Distribution of Holdings by Size (in ha.) Annexes 3.1 Wbllo Provincial and Atvraja Authorities, Imperial and Derg Period 3.2 Main Rebel Leaders Identified in Mol Archives 5.0 List of Kebelle Committees (early 2000s) Maps 1 Ethiopia: Administrative Divisions (circa 1974) 2 Ethiopia: Packagc Programme Areas 1974 3 Wollo: Zones and Administrative Division (1980s) Notes The administrative division of the country has changcd sev­ eral times in the last fifty years. During the imperial regime, the country was divided into three administrative units: prov­ ince, awraja (sub-province), and woreda (district). The m ikitl woreda. (sub-district) was in use in the 1950s and 1960s but was abolished later. The Derg retained the three-tier system but introduced further complications in 1986. Provinces were split into two, and so-called “autonomous regions" were created. These “regions”, which included Tigrai, Afar and Ogaden, were given limited rights of internal self-rule. Until this date, and all through the imperial period, Wollo, for ex­ ample, was one province with twelve awrajas. From 1986, it was split into two provinces, called North and South Wollo. The present government has redrawn the country’s ad­ ministrative map along ethnic lines, and changed the bounda­ ries of former units. The country now is divided into nine eth­ nic-based politico-administrative units called K illils, each one of which is further divided into Zones and woredas. Below the woreda is the kebelle, which is now formally the lowest admin­ istrative unit. In a way, the present kebelle marks the return of the m ikitl woreda but in a different guise. The Zone is in many instances approximately the same as the province during the Derg in post-1986 period or earlier, but the awraja has been abolished. The term KiUil is rendered as Region in English in official documents but 1 prefer the Amharic term bccausc it is less confusing. The spelling of Ethiopian place and personal names is not standardized and the same name may appear under dif­ ferent spellings. Thus, for example, Wollo may also appear as Wello, Welo, or Wallo. I have retained older spelling* where these are widely used, otherwise I have followed my own rules. References are given at the end of each essay. Following customary practice, Ethiopian authors are listed alphabetically by theirfirst name A brief note on the meaning of the terms “agrarian’’ and “agriculture/agricultural" as used in this work. Hie word “agri­ cultural'’ (or “agriculture") refers to the cultivation of the soil, the “technicalities of forming’’ in Marc Blochs words, and em­ braces such activities as land and livestock management, crop­ ping practices, and labor techniques. “Agrarian” on the other hand refers to the land and the social, economic and ownership institutions pertaining to it. It includes rights to land, class and power relations, and structures of production and appropria­ tion. Thus, the latter term is much broader than the former. Acknowledgment I would like to thank my friend Yeraswork Admassie who read parts of the book in draft and whose constructive criticism was very valuable. Addis Ababa, 2008 Acronyms AAA: Addis Anteneh and Associates A1DB: Agricultural and Industrial Bank AMC: Agricultural Marketing Corporation ANRS: Amhara National Regional State Bal: Balambaras CADU: Chilalo Agricultural Development Unit CBO: Community-Based Organization CSO: Central Statistical Office DA: Development Agent Dej: Dejazmach EC: Ethiopian Calendar EDU-. Ethiopian Democratic Union EHRCO: Ethiopian Human Rights Council EP1D: Extenstion and Project Implementation Department (of MoA) EPLF: Eritrean People’s Libration Front EPRP: Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party EWLA: Ethiopian Women Lawyers