Brown Bag Seminar

Agricultural Change and Land Management in the Highlands of Tigray:
Causes and Implications

Friday, June 16, 2000, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

This study investigates changes in agriculture and land management practices between 1991 and 1998 in the highlands of Tigray, and the causes and implications of these changes, based upon a community level survey conducted in 100 villages in 50 tabias. We find that there has been broadly distributed improvement in access to a wide range of infrastructure and public services throughout the highlands of Tigray, and widespread adoption of resource conservation measures. Improvement has been greater in areas that were formerly more poorly served by infrastructure and services, helping to equalize access, though substantial improvement has occurred everywhere. These public and private investments have been associated with improvements in resource conditions and welfare throughout the region. However, the problems of low agricultural productivity, land degradation and poverty are still severe in the region. Crop yields have not improved commensurate with improvements in other areas, and problems of pressure on grazing lands and inadequate availability of fuel supplies appear to be worsening. There are also many important differences in progress among zones and communities, resulting from differences in livelihood strategies, agricultural potential, access to infrastructure, technical assistance, population pressure, education and other factors. We investigate these differences in detail in this study.

For more information, please contact B.Hackett@cgiar.org.