The Journal of Modern African Studies, 36, 3 (1998), pp. 461-482
Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom

(Excerpts - see above article for full text)

Also see the book by Kjetil Tronvoll: "Mai Weini : A Small Village in the Highlands of Eritrea, a Study of the People, Their Livelihood and Land Tenure During the Times of Turbulence" (Published 1998)

"By overruling the positive aspect of communal tenure and neglecting pastoral rights, it seems that the government has not concerned itself with understanding the primary interests - either social, economic or cultural - of the rural population in general, and the pastoral groups in particular.

From Communal To Individual Land Tenure: Severing 'Blood and Soil':

It was not until after independence that the [EPLF] changed policy in this respect, and accused the communal tenure form of being backward and an obstacle to development. Hence from the point of view of the EPLF, there was an imperative need for land reform, and a Land Commission was established in 1993. This work resulted in the new land legislation, issued by the Eritrean government in August, 1994.

Thus, the new legislation repeals all other tenure arrangements in Eritrea, and provides for ownership of all land by the Eritrean state exclcusively. The individual peasant-farmer is allowewd a lifetime lease of the land currently held, and new usufruct rights in land will be distributed to all Eritrean citizens above the age of 18, "without any discrimination of sex, religion, tribalism, and side", for the right of life-long use of a specific plot of land. The land cannot be sold or re-leased.

A rather remarkable deficiency of the new land legislation is the total neglect of pastoral and nomadic rights. The land proclamation passed by the government offers no special provisions protecting the grazing rights or rights of movement of herdsof the lowland groups who traditionally practise pastoral nomadism and mixed agro-pastoralism.

Possible Consequences of the New Land Policy

Access to and control of land means access to and control of wealth and life.

Within the government's nation-building strategies, on the other hand, land holds an additional and dangerous quality; it connects people to location through descent ties; a relationship which is endowed with deep rooted cultural and social sentiments. From this perspective, land, and the traditional relationships attached to it, risk becoming a source of division among Eritreans, and a threat to the creation of an "official" and "homogenous" all-embracing notion of nationhood.

A similar perspective may likewise explain the disregard of pastoral rights in the governments development policies.

The diverging interests between agriculturists and agro-pastoralists might be read as a political discourse, displaying the contrasting political priorities of the EPLF vis-à-vis the political opposition, historically represented by the ELF.

New settlement schemes are being planned and implemented in the western lowlands, directly infringing traditional pastoral areas. The settlers are both returning refugees from the Sudan and ex-fighters of whom the majority are Tigrinya highlanders. Therefore, giving legislative protection to agriculturists and not to agro-pastoralists may potentially ignite a live conflict between the different population groups.

Not giving pastoral rights proper legislative protection is also questionable in terms of sustainable development. As pointed out by Joireman, one of the most surprising aspects of the Eritrean land reform is its seeming revival of out-dated modernisation theory and its agricultural applications, grounded in a lack of understanding of the value of pastoralism as a mode of production, and in the emphasis on external investment as a key factor in developing the countryside.

There are a number of crucial questions connected to the land reform which still await a proper explanation by the Eritrean government. The first sceptical responses to the reform have already been voiced by the peasantry in Eritrea, and political opponents of the government. Many peasants in the od province of Akele-Guzai responded quite naturally with scepticism and hesitation toward new ideas concerning control of land.

The Eritrean Land Proclamation, and the general macro-development policies of the government, clearly overlook important issues which are in danger of jeopardising a peaceful and prosperous development of the Eritrean countryside. By overruling the positive aspect of communal tenure and neglecting pastoral rights, it seems that the government has not concerned itself with understanding the primary interests - either social, economic or cultural - of the rural population in general, and the pastoral groups in particular.

Some Alternative Strategies for Rural Development

Discussions on the pros and cons of state tenure are currently taking place in Eritrea and Ethiopia, both of which have opted for state tenure. Many researchers on rural conditions in the Horn of Africa agree upon one fundamental issue: that the control of land must rest with the peasants themselves.

The future of Eritrean rural development and production lies not in the hands of foreign investors and commercialisation, but rests with the rural population itself.

The Process of Nation-Building: Dismantling Local Integration?

Thus, the Eritrean government has defined its task to disentangle the closely-knit rural communities by dismantling their corporate character, and link the individual citizen directly to the state apparatus and thus incorporation into the community of the nation-state.

The traditional social and cultural institutions of the rural population are by proclamation made invalid and drained of cultural content, thereafter to be substituted with new and unfamiliar systems imposed by the authorities; all in the name of "economic development" and "nationalism". In this respect, the government seems to have overlooked its own promise.

As of today, it appears that the Eritrean peasants do not have any influence on the broad lines of their development. "Participation" becomes a response to government dictates, and not something that originates in the villages. How the everyday life of the Eritrean highland peasants and lowland nomads will be transformed by the current reform process - and whether or not they view the outcome as in their interest - remains to be seen.