OPINION
Land Management is Crisis Management in Africa
By Sofia Faruqi
Continent-wide , 65 % of land has been degraded , and 3 % of agricultural GDP is lost annually , owing to soil and nutrient loss on farmland
Sofia Faruqi Sofia Faruqi is the manager of the New
Restoration Economy initiative at the World Resources Institute
WASHINGTON , DC – Ethiopia is experiencing its most severe political turmoil in decades . After months of escalating protests and conflicts that have killed hundreds of people , on October 9 the Ethiopian government announced a state of emergency .
Ethiopia ’ s conflict is being driven partly by ethnic tensions and resentment against a small elite ’ s hold on the country ’ s wealth and power . But another crucial , if relatively overlooked , factor is Ethiopia ’ s land-management system . Indeed , the crisis began last year when a severe drought left ten million people hungry and triggered disputes over land ownership and protests against the government ’ s land-expropriation policies .
Ethiopia is hardly the only recent example of how conflicts over land rights can set the stage for political and humanitarian crises . Competition for arable land contributed to the Rwandan genocide in 1994 . A historic drought may have created the conditions for Syria ’ s civil war . And food insecurity stemming from land mismanagement is an important factor driving migrants to Europe .
16 Business Times Africa | 2016