A STUDY ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FLOWER FARMS AND LAND – LEASE HOLDING ISSUES IN THE VICINITY OF MENAGESHA AND HOLETA

Abstract

Today the flora industry has become one of the five top foreign exchange earning commodities in Ethiopia. Until March 2011, there were around 91 horticulture farms in the country of which 88 were flower farms. A study under the title” A Study on the Establishment of Flower Farms and Land–Lease Holding Issues in the Vicinity of Menagesha and Holeta” was coined to find out how processes and procedure of land lease arrangement was handled; if land leasing was conducted against the will of farmers and if the land lease made displaced farmers from their holdings and homesteads. Menagasha and Holeta are towns about 30-40 kilo-meters from Addis Ababa in the Walmera District where there are 21 flower farms in their vicinities in four locations. From other flower growing districts of Oromia Regional State, the Walmera district was sampled using the purposive sampling method. Then, out of the universe of 21 flower farms at four clusters/locations, 16 flower farms were randomly selected using the cluster sampling method. From the universe of the 16 flower farms, out of farmers made to land lease, 39 sampled farmers using the simple random sampling method were interviewed.16 local elders ,4 elders from each flower farm location, and 12 Kebele officials, 3 officials from each flower farm location, sampled using the non-probability sampling method were also interviewed.32 flower farm representatives,2 from 16 flower farms each and 4 officers, 2 each from the District Rural Land Administration Office and the District Investment Office filled questionnaires. In totality, 103 persons were involved in the study as proposed. ii Data collecting tools, viz. interview schedules and questionnaires were developed in such a way that they increase the possibility of generating responses to the basic research questions. Pre-testing of instruments was done with 19.4 per cent of the sampled. Data collection was given sufficient time to take place at each location at a time. Then, gathered data was checked, verified, edited, ordered sequentially and coded. It was then analyzed using both descriptive and simple statistical methods like tables, percentages, frequencies etc. supported by the pertinent interpretations. Due to the limited age of the flora industry in Ethiopia, no profound work has been done on its different aspects like access to land, water, energy; environmental protection, labor, protective measures and provisions for those who lose resources to flower farms thus limiting the existence of written information. On top of this, there was generally a suspicious attitude from flower farm field offices to give information. Some farmers were also afraid to give information related to land lease to people who are unknown to them. Results of the study indicate that processes and procedures used to handle the land lease made in the study area were defective, ignored the presence of farmers and carried authoritative attitude. Land lease was also done against the will of the majority of farmers that further generated farmer’s displacement. A case study is recommended to propose solutions on provisions that can be planned for those farmers who are made to lease all plots of land they owned and should not slip into poverty which is not the intention of growth and planned development.