ASSESSMENT OF LAND USE & PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF FOREIGN LARGE-SCALE FARMS IN OROMIYA REGIOINAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

This study assesses the trends of FDI flows in agriculture and the challenges encountered by investors in Oromiya regional states; identifies the amount of land transferred to and the land size effectively developed by investors in different regions in Ethiopia; assesses the performances of foreign investors in Oromia regional states and further documents the magnitude of employment opportunities created by the large-scale farms in Oromiya region. Both primary and secondary data were used. Secondary data were collected from districts, zones, and Oromiya regional state and from the Ministry of Agriculture. Primary data were collected through interviews, direct observation, and discussions with various groups such as community members, company managers, employees of large-scale farms and government key informants. The findings indicated that the land identification approach for investment had shortcomings in accounting for land capability and suitability for investment and limited in ground-testing of information generated through satellite imagery. The study suggests revision of the administration of large-scale agricultural investment and careful identification of supporting services at different level to agricultural investors.