Ethiopia never seems to catch a break when it comes to land and land related problems throughout its political and economic history. Land has been the maker and breaker of Ethiopian politics beginning from the time of Emperor Haileselassie I to the toppling of the Derg, from the protests across the country for consecutive three years since 2016 leading to the division within EPRDF to the resignation of PM Hailemariam Dessalegn and the coming to power of Abiy Ahmed (PhD). But, not at once has the nation been devoid of protests and upraises related to land to this point in time.

• Areas allocated to rubber, oil palm and logging concessions cover around a quarter of Liberia’s total land mass.
• Liberian activists and the international community have warned that land disputes on oil palm concessions were becoming a time bomb for conflict in the country, and urging lawmakers to give indigenous communities full rights to land the government had handed out as its own.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock is looking at encouraging famers in the Central Province to grow cocoa in the province and boost the local economy. 

With the increased demand for cocoa beans, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, John Simon recently announced a proposed plan to establish a big nursery at Kuriva in Central province to allow local famers to get cocoa seedlings and plant cocoa on their land. 

“There is a big potential here at Central Province which is already growing good cocoa beans here at Kuriva.

The Food and Agricultural Organization(FAO), in collaboration with Friends of the Nation (FoN), has held a two-day capacity building workshop for journalists to improve on the reporting of food security issues.

The workshop was to enhance the media coverage of the management and protection of fish landing and processing sites in the face of intense pressures for land-use changes along the coast of Ghana.

(July 31, 2020) – Today, Cambodian plaintiffs representing more than 700 farming families won a landmark appeal allowing them to move forward with their class action against Asia’s largest sugar producer, Mitr Phol. 
The transboundary class action Hoy Mai & Others vs. Mitr Phol Co. Ltd. is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.  It was filed under Thai laws permitting a class action to be brought by foreign plaintiffs for abuses committed by a Thai company overseas.

The Quezon City government has bought a property in Barangay Bagong Silangan and Payatas  to house some 3,000 informal settlers. 

Mayor Joy Belmonte has signed the deeds of sale of 214,057 square meter property.

“Ito’y umpisa ng hangarin nating mabigyan ng katiyakan sa paninirahan ang mga informal settlers sa ating siyudad (This is the start of our dream to assure informal settlers that they would have their own homes in the city),” Belmonte said, noting that when she was elected mayor, part of her agenda is to address the concerns of the city’s informal settlers.

September 1, 2020 (Ezega.com) -- At least 12 people were killed and 10 others wounded in ethnic-based clashes over forest ownership rights in Ale special district in South Nations Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia, an official has said.

“Gunmen killed 12 persons and wounded several others in pre-arranged attacks in Gerama and Guroze localities in Ale district,” Government Communication Affairs Head of the district Sawra Gebeyehu told local media.

Kampong Speu provincial police and NGO ACNCIPO director Chea Hean stopped nearly 100 people from grabbing more than 200ha illegally in the Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary on Wednesday.

The incident occurred at the Trapaing Thmea village in Oral district.

Hean said on Wednesday the people intended to claim the area for private ownership and prepared to build sheds and clear forest land to grow crops. Authorities intervened and the 100 or so families protested.

He said they eventually listened to instructions and returned to their respective homes.

August 31, 2020 (Ezega.com) -- The Addis Ababa City Administration has faced allegations that it permitted land grabbing and illegally transferred condominium houses in a politically motivated decision.

In a briefing on Monday, Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (ECSJ) said thousands of square meters of land have been taken illegally over the past months.

Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (ECSJ) said the land grabbing and illegal transfer of the condominiums have reached a “critical level” based on a study it conducted on the matter.