Woyanne minister of agriculture in Ethiopia, Tafera Derbew, has dismissed a request by figurehead President Girma Woldegirogis (see here) not to sell western Ethiopian land to Indian companies and went to India yesterday to approve a $4.4 billion investment deal. The Indian companies must be made aware in advance that the deal is illegitimate and that the new government that will soon be replacing the Woyanne junta will not have to honor any such deal. The following is a press release by the Government of India.
PRESS RELEASE (Government of India) — Ethiopia has invited Indian farmers for commercial farming in view of high skill and experience of Indian farmers in commercial crops. Calling on Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Prof. K.V.Thomas here today, Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Tafera Derbew said that Indian farmers can avail the opportunity of vast farming land set aside by his country for commercial farming and grow pulses and edible oil crops for export to India.
The visiting Agriculture Minister of Ethiopia said that his country would like to take advantage of Indian experience not only in the area of mechanized farming but also in food security system. He discussed other issues of bilateral cooperation with Prof. K.V. Thomas.
Welcoming the offer of Ethiopian government, Prof. K.V. Thomas requested the Ethiopian minister to set up single window system for various clearances to Indian entrepreneurs for taking up commercial farming in Ethiopia. He said that India can provide technical expertise in the area of watershed development and standardization of various food products. The Bureau of Indian Standards and ICAR are already providing training to experts from Ethiopia. Areas for such trainings and cooperation will be explored further, he said.
India is the largest foreign investor in Ethiopia with approved investment of US $ 4.4 billion, out of which 40 per cent investment is in the field of commercial agriculture. Ethiopia will also hold Indian Africa Forum Summit in May 2011 to strengthen cooperation with India.
11 thoughts on “Woyanne agriculture minister dismisses president’s request”
TPLF drama- not worth a report.
The myth of Ethiopian agriculture
One often read the luck of ethiopians, knowledge and experience in agriculture. The truth is Ethiopians were the first human beings to harness animal power by inventing the simple wooden plow and domesticating crops such as wheat, barley, sorghum, miilet, teff, pulses, coffee etc and animals. In the highlands of our region, a farmer can support a family of more than six people by cultivating land less than one hectar,using traditional agricultural system for centuries. Some times he even support absenty land lords in the cities as was done in recent times during Menelik and Haile Selassie’s regimes who gave the right to own the land,forcing farmers to shring a third of their crops and animals. One thing I know if you put the knowledge of modern agriculturists, agronomist, animal scientist, ageconomist, and plant and animal disese specialists together would not know how to feed a family from a hectar of land, they would fail using the so called modern agricultur with fertilizers and various chemicals. It is unfortunate that we ethiopians are loosing our proven and sustainable traditional agricultural knowledge and beg others to teach us much inferior and unsustainable system of agriculture. What ethiopia need to boost agricultural production is to make reality the slogan “Land to the Tiller” and not for government as was done by the DERG and EPRDF that so many young ethiopian sacrificed their lives. It is ironic that an Ethiopians farmer have no right to their ancestoral land for one generation, yet the smae land is given away for 99 years almost for free! Ethiopian farmer can produce more in quantity and quality if he/she gets the fraction of suuport that foreign ‘investors’ are given by the Ethiopian government. Hmera agriculture was developed by small farmers who sensed the growing of sesame, cotton in Awash valley and Harricaot beans and corn in Shshemene and Awasa areas. Yes still ‘land to the tillers’
Yehema sayetalem yetfeta negere newe:: Haven’t we seen enough horrors caused by TPLF? How can we expect justice and fairness to come out of Satan?
this is indirect colonization. the ethiopian government should learn from the Eritrean government.
Let us be united against our enemy.
Indians will experiment their cast system in Ethiopia too. What a shame.
This is a crime act and indians will be responsible for human life lost directly and indirectly. The enviromental degradation human displacement, encouraging a genocide government etc.
Mr. Tefera Derbew said that ” the indian farmers can avail the opportunity of vast farming land set aside … to grow pulses and edible oil crops for export to India.” This is very strange. Ethiopians are the one who experience food shortage invariably. How come then the investors use our land to export to India? What is the deal for the Ethiopian farmers who will be booted out of their land? A promise to labor for the money men from India? That is not promising. Mechanization of the farming might not leave room for many laborers to be employed. Some might be employed. What will happen to those who were forced out of their land and still could not even work as laborers in their own land? Is land grabbing by new emerging economic powers could signal a new kind of colonialism in the making? It is impossible to sugarcoat the new trend. It seems colnization. But a different kind. This time the government of the host country is in bed with the new colonizers. What is the benefit for Ethiopa? Every investors from Saudi Arabia to India have made it clear they are into this business to alleviate the food shortage their cuntries might face. Is Ethiopia not the poster boy for food shortage? Indeed is. Why then a country that depends in foreign aids to make it year to year could allocate land for farming its sole purpose is to produce for export? I wish I know the answer. Are the deal makers, that is the EPDRF politicos, get some cut in this transaction? I thought about this for a while. I could not have any other explanation otherwise. Even the EPDRF politicos, I do not think, they auction the country in broad daylight unless they get something out of it. Way to go politcos! At least they are not out of their characters. This is not to mean mechanized farming is unecessary because the peasants will no longer have a way of sustaining their lives. Mechanization is the way of the future. But any responsible government could encourage local investors to invest. Banks should open up credit line for such investors. In that case we know the farming products will be available to Ethiopian consumers. If there is a surplus Ethiopian investors will export. In the meantime any sensible government should work to mitigate the impact mechanization will produce. Many labors will be freed because of mechanized farming. The government has the obligation to become business friendly so that many businesses will open up. Only in that condition the new unemployed will adjust to a new way of life. That is not happening now in Ethiopia. The foreign billionaires were chasing out peasants from their lands with a blessing of their own government. How sad!
Dear Elias and all Ethiopian, please let the grabbers know our anger and reaction on their illegal action. Let the Indian Government and the so called investors know they made a deal with an illigitmate government. The best way of informing them is sending an e-mail to their officials, i.e, the Prime Minister Of India, Indian Ministry of Agriculture and the Managing Director of Karaturi Globa Ltd, the company which is highly involved in displacing Ethiopian farmers and grabbing the majority land in Ethiopia. Bellow is and advocacy letter which can be sent by readers. Since, you are the best writter, I really welcome you to edit it.
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Please stand against “colonialism” !!
HE D.r Manmohan Singh Prime Minster of India http://pmindia.nic.in/write.htm
Prof. KV Thomas Union Minister of State of Agriculture, Food, Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution
e-mail (i) [email protected] (ii) [email protected]
Ramakrishna Karuturi Managing Director Karaturi Global Ltd. [email protected]
Open letter to Government of India on alleged “land grab, eviction of the Ethiopian, 21st century colonization, and modern slavery in Ethiopia,”
As Ethiopian who concerned about the future of our country, we call on the government of India to look at the crazy act of the minority illegitimate regime of Meles Zenawi, and on the so called greedy investors to stop harassing, displacing and indirectly killing Ethiopians in order to grab their land. We call the Indian government to halt the colonizing process of Indian Companies in Ethiopia. If a devastating crisis starts in Ethiopia and beyond, it is only the minority illegitimate regime of Meles Zenawi held responsible, and the so called investors will lose their investment which they are giving to Meles Zenawi as the result of their inhuman and illegal business with an illegitimate regime.
With a copy of this open letter we are advising the Government of India and world political organizations, financial institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations, church organizations, and the media not to blame the Ethiopian people, for crises in the future. Ethiopians are being colonized and modern day slavery is being imposed on them. Your government and Indian Companies are being alerted, and you cannot wash your hands off. We are telling the Indian Government to take proactive steps and avoid a devastating crisis. We also ask all Ethiopian nationals and all peace loving people of the world community to stand up and let the world leaders know that the voiceless Ethiopian people deserve peaceful life on their land. Prosperity, human rights, equality and freedom are God given rights to the Ethiopian people.
Thank you,
People of Ethiopia
Land must be privatized and ethiopian business people should be given priority insted of bringing foreign people who take away all their produce out of the country. Unfotunately TPLF has no ethiopian interest.
every foreigner investing in ethiopia and stealing from the people with the genocidal brute zenawi are as responsible as him and part of the evil deeds