In Ethiopia, Policy LINK Co-facilitates Sensitization Workshops for Sidama, Oromia Regions
Over 40 stakeholders attended the workshop in Sidama.
Policy LINK’s Champions for Food Security (C4FS) Activity in Ethiopia co-facilitated Land Administration and Use Proclamation sensitization workshops in the Sidama and Oromia regions on October 8 and November 9, 2023, respectively. The main objectives of the workshops were to raise awareness among stakeholders and other key actors on the approved proclamation. It was also aimed at enabling stakeholders to understand the core objective, contents, and mode of implementation of the policy and to facilitate uptake of the proclamation.
The Land Administration and Use proclamations aim to improve the management and utilization of land and land resources for agricultural purposes. The Sidama Land Use and Administration Proclamation was ratified in February 2023, while the Oromia was ratified in July 2023.
The workshop was attended by 42 people in Sidama, Yirgalem town, and 85 people in Oromia. The participants represented the public and private sectors, civil society organizations (CSOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities, research institutions, community-based organizations (CBOs), farmers' cooperatives, and the media.
According to the Sidama participants, the enactment of the proclamation is crucial in terms of outlining the Sidama people's land use rights and obligations, as agriculture provides the majority of the people's income. Despite being the primary source of subsistence for the majority, land productivity in the Sidama region is declining due to land fragmentation, population growth, and intensive habitation. “Stakeholder awareness is thus critical in the proper management and utilization of agricultural land in the region,” one participant underscored during the meeting.
The Sidama Region has been reconstituting its administrative offices and formulating the legal basis and descriptions of its administrative procedures since its transformation from one of the zones of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) into a regional state in June 2020. The Land Administration and Use Proclamation is among those formulated and approved by the regional council in 2022.
In his opening address, the Oromia Bureau of Land Head Mr. Guta Lachore also highlighted the processes of preparing, endorsing, and publishing the Oromia Rural Land Administration and Use Proclamation. He stated that, led by his bureau, numerous regional stakeholders participated in and contributed significantly to the rural proclamation.