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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri Feb 18 2011 - 08:02:30 EST
Oromia/Ethiopia: Djibouti Govt Owns Farmland in Arsi, Oromia, 3x Size of
Arable Land in Djibouti
February 18, 2011 at 11:04 pm . Gadaa.com
Gadaa.com
The regime of President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti owns farmland in
Arsi, Oromia, that's three times the size of all arable land in Djibouti.
Here are the basic stats. According to
<https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/dj.html>
The World Factbook, the total land mass of Djibouti 23,180 square-kilometers
(sq. km.), of which only 0.04% is suitable for agriculture (arable land). In
other words, about 9.28 sq. km. of the total land mass in Djibouti is
arable.
In 2009 the Zenawi regime gave to Djibouti 3,000 hectares (ht) of
<http://www.addisfortune.com/Djibouti%20Generates%20Grain%20on%203,000ht%20G
esture.htm> prime farmland in western Arsi, near Serofta, Oromia, 3,000 ht
is 30 sq.km., making the farmland that Djibouti owns in Oromia three times
the size of the arable land found in Djibouti.
This land grab data in Oromia does not include the private farmland given to
President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of
Ethiopia. According to <http://farmlandgrab.org/post/view/2428>
Farmlandgrab.org, "Ethiopia gave Guelleh 7,000 hectares of land some 400 km
(250 miles) south of Addis Ababa, where government officials say he will
grow wheat."
In addition to the farmland, <http://farmlandgrab.org/post/view/2428>
Zenawi has given his counterpart in Djibouti a lakeside land: "Guelleh was
also given 10,000 square metres of lakeside land some 45 km (30 miles) east
of the capital on which to build a holiday home, the officials said."
Similarly, according to
<http://www.addisfortune.com/Pakistani%20Businessman%20Dies%20in%20Ditch.htm
> Addis Fortune, the Zenawi regime had given 70,000ht plot of farmland
located in Arjo (Dedesa), East Wollega Zone, Oromia, to a Pakistani
businessman for sugar cane production.
The above examples barely scratch the surface of the massive land grabs in
Oromia as well as other regions. For more detailed tracking, visit
<http://farmlandgrab.org/cat/show/116?page=1> FarmlandGrab.org.
In dire need of foreign currency for the tattering economy, the Zenawi
regime has been in a land giveaway frenzy over the last three to five years.
The main objective of the land grab program in Ethiopia is to export
Oromia-farmed grains/products with little to none left for domestic markets
while
<http://gadaa.com/news/3967/2011/02/08/ethiopia-says-2-8-million-people-need
-emergency-food-aid> millions are facing starvation and malnutrition in
Oromia and elsewhere in Ethiopia.
Also in the News: Land grab devastates Gambella region
By Obang Motho
Deforestation of 5,000 hectares of agricultural land leased to Verdanta
Harvests of India could have an irreversible impact not only in Ethiopia,
but also to downstream populations in Sudan and Egypt.
The Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) is
ignoring objections from Ethiopian President Girma Wolde-Giorgis, from the
Environmental Protection Authority of Ethiopia (EPA) and from the indigenous
Mazenger people of Gambella, to the clearing of 5,000 hectares of ancient
forests in the Godere District, located at the headwaters of five critical
rivers in the Nile Basin that are major tributaries to the White Nile.
- Full Story (AddisVoice.com)
<http://addisvoice.com/2011/02/land-sale-devastates-gambela-region/>
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