9. The Power of Policy and the Entrenchment of Inequalities in Ethiopia: Reframing Agency in the Global Land Rush

Ethiopia has drawn global attention as one of the epicentres of the global rush for agricultural land. The government is actively seeking out foreign investors and offering attractive incentive packages. These land deals, however, have not been well-received by local populations due to resultant controversies and negative impacts. Concerns surrounding forced resettlement sparked outrage. The government’s stated objectives, namely technology transfer, increased production, employment, along with its unstated objectives (i.e. increasing foreign currency reserves), are not being met. After years of ‘chasing’ investors in the agricultural sector, the land lease policy changed in 2013 and introduced new limits for leases. As a result, several contracts were annulled and foreign investments withered. Available literature on the land rush in Ethiopia and investment deals address a wide range of environmental, political, economic, employment, and food security issues. To-date, there has not been a macro-level geographic assessment of foreign land leases in Ethiopia. This is important because land leases occur in specific places and impact certain people. In this chapter, we highlight the agency of the Government of Ethiopia in a discourse that traditionally focuses on foreign investors and investigate the disproportionate burden placed upon marginalized ethnic minorities as a result of large-scale land acquisitions.