Paper short abstract:

By taking a case of castor beans production through out-grower schemes in Wolaita (Southern Ethiopia), this paper critically discusses the role of biofuels - and commercialisation of agriculture - in shaping the relation between land administration and political power in Ethiopia.

Paper long abstract:

The paper discusses a case of biofuels production in Wolaita started in 2009 by an Israeli company operating in three different districts. The programme encountered a number of problems and it was interrupted after three seasons (2012). Reasons behind its failure include poor planning, low productivity of castor beans, and top-down implementation. For instance, local communities were informed only once the deal was agreed upon, and the programme generated conflicts over communal land. The paper draws on the case of Wolaita to discuss the broader relation between commercialisation of agriculture, land administration and political power in Ethiopia. I argue that land policy in Ethiopia is characterised by a growing emphasis on commercial agriculture whereby smallholders are increasingly required to link their production to the market. Biofuels are presented both as a high value crop for export and as a potential source for improving local energy security. Nonetheless the shift from subsistence-oriented to commercial agriculture does not follow a neoliberal model, but it is driven by a strong 'developmental state', which aims to plan and control every aspect of rural development. Prominent features of this project are deconcentration of decision-making from upper to lower bodies of government (through decentralisation); establishment of an elite of 'model farmers'; and a comprehensive project of social engineering in the countryside. As commercialisation of agriculture is a fundamental aspect of the overall rural development strategy in Ethiopia, its implementation on the field has relevant impacts on livelihood generation, food security and poverty reduction.