Abstract:
Commercial agricultural investment has been highly recognized by the Ethiopian government to
accelerate economic development and to achieve food security since 2006 in a Plan for Accelerated
and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP) document. As a result of this, a large area of
land has been given to both domestic and foreign investors for the production of different cash and
food crops. But opposition against expropriation for commercial farming and destruction of
investment sites become common incidents. Cognizant of this fact, this study assessed the PoliticalEconomy
of
agricultural
investment
in
Amhara
National
Regional
State
(ANRS),
particularly
in
Bahir
Dar
Zuria Woreda, taking Jovani Alphano and Tana Flora as a focus of study. Thus, a mixed
research approach was employed to address research objectives. In doing so, both primary and
secondary sources of data were gathered through questionnaire, interview, Focused Group
Discussion (FGD), secondary sources and simple observation. A total of 160 respondents were taken
to address survey question items in accordance with sample size determination formula by stratified
random sampling. The data were analyzed and interpreted through statistics-by-themes and side-byside
comparison in an integrative manner by way of joint display mechanisms. The study elucidated
that land expropriation was carried out without genuine public consultation, ascertaining popular
consent and written notification whereby the participation of peasants in land dealings was nonexistent.
It had also confirmed that compensation was paid to evictees. However, the process of
valuation was full of uncertainty and jumping which produced dissatisfaction and grievance on
evictees. The flower farms negatively affected the livelihood and food security of peasants and it also
resulted in violence and conflict, tenure insecurity, hostile and strained government-society relations,
distrust and deterioration of government legitimacy. The major conclusion drawn from the finding is
the expansion of commercial farming was not made vis-à-vis with empowering the displaced poor in
their former status. Finally, the researcher recommended that evictees should be incorporated as part
of development and rehabilitated to the extent possible by both the government and investors for the
sustainability the projects.