Development by dispossession in Ethiopia: The Contribution of Sugar Mega-Project to the development of Afar Region

Abstract

Investment objectives in Ethiopia have focused on improving the living conditions of the people living in developing regional states through accelerated socio-economic development. The purpose of this research was to examine the extent to which investment in a sugar mega-project contribute to the development of Afar Regional State in Ethiopia. The study employed both descriptive and explanatory research designs to investigate what happened and the why it happened respectively. Data for this study were collected through qualitative methods which include key informant interviews, observation, focus group discussions and document analysis. Ninety six participants were interviewed and six focus group discussions were conducted. The qualitative dataset was thematically analyzed through inductive identification of themes (where themes and categories emerge from the data gathered through different tools). Moreover, seventeen documents and several reports of the factory were analyzed. The central argument of this study is that investment in sugar project in Afar Regional State has not achieved its intended purpose due to internal and external factors. Instead, the establishment of sugar mega project in Afar Regional State led to pastoralists and agro-pastoralists being evicted from their farms and pasture lands in order to give land to the sugar factory infrastructure. Continuous interruptions (and the eventual cessation of) production, led to worsened living and socio-economic conditions of the local communities. Despite a wealth of natural resources, one of the most prosperous regional states in Ethiopia remains significantly underdeveloped. The researcher recommended that the federal government has to conduct social and environmental analysis before establishing mega projects and investment in Afar Regional State should focus on pastoralist way of life to improve the living conditions of local communities.

How to cite this article using ASWNet style

Mollaw D. (2023). Development by dispossession in Ethiopia: The contribution of Sugar Mega-Project to the development of Afar Region. People centred – The Journal of Development Administration (JDA), 8(1), 23-30. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jda.v8i1.4

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