Decentralization and agrarian transformation in Ethiopia: extending the power of the federal state

Abstract

A controversial aspect of the Ethiopian ‘developmental state’ lies in the peculiar relationship between local administrative structures and farmers. This article discusses this local interface in light of the implementation of recent reforms establishing a decentralized system of land administration. The aim is to explore the discursive repertoire behind the implementation of decentralization so as to understand its significance in relation to the broader project of rural development. The article describes the local administrative structure, its agents, and how it reconfigures the relationship between the state and farmers in the rural milieu. The article presents empirical evidence from the case of Siraro wereda in Oromiya region, and makes a detailed analysis of how local officials and farmers experience decentralization on the ground. The main conclusion is that, by legitimizing and laying the technical foundation of a rural development project that relies on two main political narratives (‘equity and fairness’ and ‘efficiency and productivity’), decentralization in Ethiopia has the effect of strengthening the already hierarchical system of local administration and thereby serves to further extend the power of the Ethiopian state.

Keywords:

• land reform
• decentralization
• Ethiopia
• local farmer–state interface
• land administration

Notes

1. Wereda and kebele in Ethiopia refers, respectively, to district and village level of administration.

2. For a discussion of the developmental state in Ethiopia, see Lefort (2012) and Meles (2012). For a broader contextualization of the Asian experience, see Leftwich (2000).

3. Details about PSCAP can be found at http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P074020/public-sector-capacity-building-program-support-project?lang=en (downloaded February 2013)

4. Fieldwork methodology encompassed semi-structured interviews with 100 farmers in Siraro collected in 2009–2010 and in 2012. I made use of qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. An open questionnaire was divided into two main sections. The first aimed to get general information about landholding, household size, crop and farming practices. The second included questions about policies and programmes relevant to land management and administration.

5. For further details, see the report ‘Physical and Socio-Economical Profile of Siraro Woreda’ available at the ARDO, Loke Heda, Siraro.

6. Data gathered at the ARDO in Loke Heda, Siraro.

7. Interview with elders in Ropi, Siraro, 22 November 2009.

8. Data gathered at the ARDO in Loke Heda, Siraro.

9. Interview with the Head of the Food Security Office, Loke Heda, Siraro, 12 February 2010.

10. This categorization of centre-periphery is made by Markakis (2011), who distinguished between ‘highland centre', ‘highland periphery’ and ‘lowland periphery’.

11. Interview with a DA in Ropi, Siraro, February 2010.

12. Interview with a farmer in Ropi, Siraro, 15 April 2012.

13. Interview with a local official of the wereda ARDO, Loke Heda, Siraro, 17 April 2012.

14. Interview with a local official of the wereda ARDO, Loke Heda, Siraro, 17 April 2012.

15. Interview with a Capacity Building Office's official in Loke Heda, Siraro, 4 February 2010.

16. Interview with a staff member of a local NGO in Ropi, Siraro, 8 December 2010.

17. Interview with a wereda Official in Ropi, Siraro, 10 February 2010.

18. Interview with a Capacity Building Office's official in Loke Heda, Siraro, 4 February 2010.

19. Interview with a farmer in Siraro, 22 November 2009.

20. Interview with a farmer in Ropi, Siraro, 16 November 2009.

21. Interview with a farmer in Ropi, Siraro, 27 November 2009.

22. Interview with a farmer in Alemtena, Siraro, 14 April 2012.

23. Interview with a farmer in Sambaté, Siraro, 28 November 2009.

24. Interview with a farmer in Alemtena, Siraro, 19 April 2012.