The impact of a State-sponsored irrigation project on Karrayu Pastoralists in Ethiopia

This article examines how a project intended to help local pastoralists facilitates the accumulation of wealth among elites at the expense of the local people. The data was collected qualitatively from five villages classified spatially based on the variability of water availability and access along...

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Main Authors: Tefera Goshu, Ayalew Gebre
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2023-12-01
Series:Cogent Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2023.2184304
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author Tefera Goshu
Ayalew Gebre
author_facet Tefera Goshu
Ayalew Gebre
author_sort Tefera Goshu
collection DOAJ
description This article examines how a project intended to help local pastoralists facilitates the accumulation of wealth among elites at the expense of the local people. The data was collected qualitatively from five villages classified spatially based on the variability of water availability and access along the catchment. It was gathered through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and observation, which were then analyzed using a thematic data analysis strategy. The findings indicate that the Project associated with privatising communal land has transformed land-related social and production relationships. It has been characterisedby the development ofexploitative sharecropping arrangements involving multiple actors and marketing relationships. Landowners pastoralists have marginally benefited while capitalists maximize wealth without dispossessing the locals from their land, i.e., accumulation without dispossession. The study concludes that the Project served as a tool to reinforce local exploitation by dispossessing profit gains from their land while allowing external investors to grow and prosper. Finally, the article suggests a policy implication aimed at strengthening households’ capacity so that local pastoralists can farm independently on their land and reap the full benefits.
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series Cogent Social Sciences
spelling doaj-art-a0fb0d8d6e264fb09b9cc87b421db19e2025-08-20T03:31:27ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Social Sciences2331-18862023-12-019110.1080/23311886.2023.2184304The impact of a State-sponsored irrigation project on Karrayu Pastoralists in EthiopiaTefera Goshu0Ayalew Gebre1Social Anthropology, Addis Ababa University College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaSocial Anthropology, Addis Ababa University College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaThis article examines how a project intended to help local pastoralists facilitates the accumulation of wealth among elites at the expense of the local people. The data was collected qualitatively from five villages classified spatially based on the variability of water availability and access along the catchment. It was gathered through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and observation, which were then analyzed using a thematic data analysis strategy. The findings indicate that the Project associated with privatising communal land has transformed land-related social and production relationships. It has been characterisedby the development ofexploitative sharecropping arrangements involving multiple actors and marketing relationships. Landowners pastoralists have marginally benefited while capitalists maximize wealth without dispossessing the locals from their land, i.e., accumulation without dispossession. The study concludes that the Project served as a tool to reinforce local exploitation by dispossessing profit gains from their land while allowing external investors to grow and prosper. Finally, the article suggests a policy implication aimed at strengthening households’ capacity so that local pastoralists can farm independently on their land and reap the full benefits.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2023.2184304pastoralistssharecroppingbrokersexploitationaccumulation without dispossession
spellingShingle Tefera Goshu
Ayalew Gebre
The impact of a State-sponsored irrigation project on Karrayu Pastoralists in Ethiopia
Cogent Social Sciences
pastoralists
sharecropping
brokers
exploitation
accumulation without dispossession
title The impact of a State-sponsored irrigation project on Karrayu Pastoralists in Ethiopia
title_full The impact of a State-sponsored irrigation project on Karrayu Pastoralists in Ethiopia
title_fullStr The impact of a State-sponsored irrigation project on Karrayu Pastoralists in Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed The impact of a State-sponsored irrigation project on Karrayu Pastoralists in Ethiopia
title_short The impact of a State-sponsored irrigation project on Karrayu Pastoralists in Ethiopia
title_sort impact of a state sponsored irrigation project on karrayu pastoralists in ethiopia
topic pastoralists
sharecropping
brokers
exploitation
accumulation without dispossession
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2023.2184304
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