29. Agricultural Land Conversion: Application of Land Capability Classification in Land-Use Planning of Embaderho Village in Eritrea

Land capability classification has been used for sensible land reallocation and distribution for settlement purposes. A case study has been conducted to assess how much fertile agricultural land is converted to urban use between 1995 and 2003. This conversion has been assessed in terms of total as well as under each land capability class to examine whether competition between land use for agriculture and housing is leading to landlessness. Assessment is made by superimposing the maps on grid transparent papers using 1995 capability map. Land area possession per family is calculated by dividing total cropland area with total number of households in the village. Interviews and discussions with inhabitants witnessed their feelings about land conversion and subsequent impact on farmers’ possession of arable land and livelihood. The assessment demonstrated that 234.9 ha (23.7% of the highly and moderately potential cropland) has been converted to urban use, including 146.5 ha (38.5% of the capability class I land) being reallocated for settlement. Cultivable land area possession per household is reduced (1–0.35 ha) causing land fragmentation and landlessness in the village affecting the livelihood in general and specifically women-farmers-led families. Based on the present study, it has been concluded that the available land capability classification system has not been properly practiced in the reallocation and distribution of land for settlement purpose.