The Transformation of the Afar Commons in Ethiopia: State Coercion, Diversification, and Property Rights Change among Pastoralists
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The major economic activity for pastoralists is animal husbandry. The harsh
environment in which herders raise their livestock requires constant mobility to
regulate resource utilization via a common property regime. In contrast to the
mobile way of life characterizing pastoralism, agriculture as a sedentary activity is
only marginally present in the lowlands of the Afar regional state in Ethiopia.
Nevertheless, this study reveals a situation where the traditional land–use
arrangements in Afar are being transformed due to the introduction of farming. In
the past, the Imperial and the Socialist governments introduced large–scale
agriculture in a coercive manner, thereby instigating massive resistance from the
pastoralists. Currently, the recurrence of drought in the study areas has facilitated
the subdivision of the communal land on a voluntary basis for the purpose of
farming. Qualitative and quantitative analysis highlight the drivers, both coercive
and non–coercive, of the transformation of traditional property rights of Afar
pastoralists.