A long term land lease (25 000 ha) for cotton farming in Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz regions for a period of 50 years (renewable)

The board of Oromia Investment Commission has approved 167 investment projects worth 5.37 billion Br. Over 81pc of them are in agriculture and agro-processing sectors.

The Oromia Regional Investment Commissiona says 167 total investment projects were approved in the last six months requiring the provision of 4600 hectares of land.

The charges brought against the human rights defenders relate to a food security workshop that the they were due to attend in Nairobi, Kenya, in March 2015.

Midroc's subsidiary Elfora Agro-industry Plc plans to cultivate alfalfa on 300ha of land at Nettle and Shallo in the Oromia Region with an objective of producing 600 tonnes of forage a month.

Video by Alfredo Bini explores the phenomenon of land grabs through the eyes of foreign investors, governments and the people on the land.

Huge delegation lead by Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam is on a tour at Shabelle region to inspect lands prepared for investors.

Large-scale land investment should be seen as an extension of the historical processes of state formation, says this paper from Chatham House

Gambela’s new tag as a land grabbing hub comes as BHO Agro Plc becomes the third Indian firm to begin operations in the region after two other Indian companies, Karuturi and Ruchi Group, moved into Gambela in 2008 and early 2010, respectively.

Free City Radio interviews Devlin Kuyek from GRAIN speaking on the jailing of three Ethiopian land rights advocates.

In addition to these ongoing seven sugar factories, there is also an ongoing private initiative, Hiber Sugar S.C. which will operates on 25,000ha of land in Amhara Regional State at Tana Beles Basin.

After enabling foreign firms to grab vast stretches of land, the government has begun to review its land policy.

En privé, les officiels éthiopiens reconnaissent l'échec de leur politique d'agriculture commerciale basée sur la location à bas prix d'immenses portions de terres à des firmes étrangères.

L’Inde, autre puissante émergente, a elle-aussi pigé l’aubaine des appels du pied de Zenawi. Mais plutôt que de miser sur la production manufacturière où il est difficile de concurrencer l’atelier chinois, New Delhi s’est rabattu sur le gâteau agricole.

On the ground reports have exposed a secret operation by Ethiopian forces to force the Suri, Bodi and Mursi tribes out of their ancestral land to pave way for sugarcane plantations of Malaysian investors.

The article suggests the need to render the government a custodian (and not owner) of land in conformity with the FDRE Constitution

Contract template that was given to the Oakland Institute research team in Benishangul

English translation of a contract template (original in Amharic) that was given to the Oakland Institute research team in Benishangul

Anywaa Survival Organisation would like to call upon indigenous people to resist this kind of land grabbing effort of the Ethiopian government, now acknowledged by a World Bank report

"What they are saying is that the local people are now suffering very badly as a direct result of these foreign companies taking over."

Official statement of the Oromo Liberation Front declaring the Oromo farmland deals between the Ethiopian government and third parties "null and void".

Emami Biotech's project has already begun at Awash Sebat Kilo some 250 km east of the capital Addis Ababa growing Jatropha, sunflower, castor, pulses and various herbs at a cost of $24 million.

Contract covers the lease of 25,000 ha in the Regional State of Gambela for a period of 40 years, with option for renewal, for the production of sugar cane.

Covers 10,000 ha in Gambela Regional State for the production of rice, for an initial period of 50 years, with option for renewal.

Contract is for 10,000 ha in the Regional State of Gambela for a period of 25 years, with option for renewal.

Contract covers the lease of 27,000 ha in the Regional State of Gambela for a period of 25 years, with option for renewal.

Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi talks about the leasing of large areas of Ethiopian farmland to foreign investors during a panel on African agriculture at the World Economic Forum

Contract covers the lease of 25,000 ha in the Regional State of Gambela for a period of 25 years, with option for renewal.

Contract covers the lease of 3,012 ha in the Gambela Regional State for a period of 50 years, with option for renewal.

Karuturi is perhaps the poster child for the big land grabs that have characterized large scale agricultural investment in Ethiopia