Simesh Vagaries of surplus peasant labor in the eyes of the developmental state thesis - the case of Ethiopia

Vagaries of Surplus Peasant Labor in theEyes of the Developmental State Thesis: the Case of Ethiopia Abstract Four questions: meanings of PSL, socio-cultural and political causative agents, relevance of polices, ideological and epistemological grounds

IntroductionsEthiopia:• The second largest populous country in ASS (80m) CSA (2006-2007); Fastest growth rate about 2.9%;• One of the LDS in the World (WB, 1995);• Heavily agricultural economy and rural demography—85%;• Three Regimes in succession: imperial, military socialist, and now developmental state (Fasil, 1996);

1. Conceptual Baselines• Who is a peasant falling in the agro-labor surplus category?1. Socio-geographically confined to all parts of Ethiopia outside the 1974 towns and cities (PASDEP, 2006)2. Rural food insecure household at a critical level (MPSN, 2005);3.The Unemployed Labor Force by age criteria:15-59 years( ILO, 1991);4. A peasant job seeker by time criteria; the previous four weeks and failed to get (CSA, 2000); It does not include ‘’Concealed Labor’ (Tenker, 2006);5. A usual (Permanent) Status as opposed to Current Status (CSA);6. Social entitlement specifically referring to ‘a peasant practically left only labor title (Thodaro, 1995);

2. Ethiopia: Attributes of Surplus Peasant Labor• A. Methodologically, controversies over statistics of surpluses, unemployed, employed;• B. Socially, both sexes being affected with female surpluses a bit ahead; 2.6% growth rate (Sosina and Tsheay, 2008);• C. Spatially, Northern Ethiopia takes up 58% share; 40% southern and eastern Ethiopia; 2%, pastoralist areas (MLSA, 2011);• D. Temporally, seasonality, religions and kin ties matter in the north-70% in fluid status; income conditions affect the south (ANRSLSA, 2010) ;

E. In genesis, six factors being responsible:1. Structural legacies (drought and famine) (ODI 2010);2. Demographic explosion with 2.9 national average (Abebe Zegye,1994; CSA, 2006);3. Environmental degradation especially in the North (Degefe Tolosa, 1989);4. Land scarcity where there was no more land distribution since 1997(MoI, 2003);5. Innervating government policies (focus on state farms and Cooperatives in the past 60 years (Degene Aredo,1990);6. Traditional views (Tenker, 2005)

4. Evolutions of Peasant Surplus Labor and the Developmental State in Action• 4.1. Peasant Surplus Labor and Government Intervention (1991-2003)• 4.1.1. Policy Measures:• A. Rural small and medium scale irrigation schemes (Azmera, 2003);• B. Relatively large and well organized Relief and later Development Organizations (DPPC, 2000) ;• C. Post-war boom in construction of projects for social services;• D. Such public development organizations and Self- Administrations like government corporations;• E. ‘Food for work’ programs, (DPPC, 2001); generally more than half a million trgs;

4.1.2. Constraints• A. High turnover of labor force (specifically in southern and central Ethiopia) due to traditions, religious holidays, poor work habit;• B. High degree of complaints over small wage rates (that was birr 6 a day (Worknes Negatu, 2008);• C. Frequent and intermittent labor disputes as high as 10% (DPPC, 2001; BCSO, 2003);• D. Poor group work habit and indiscipline;• E. High female drop out growths;• F. Tendencies of preferring ‘individualist, independent and managerially least hierarchized jobs’

4.2. Peasant Surplus Labor and Government Intervention Since 20054.2.1 Policy MeasuresA. Food Security Package: fishing, gold mining, pottery, forestry, mine transport, construction, animal husbandry, leather and so on (MoA, 2011).B. Productive Safety-Net Programs (PSNP): MoA (2010) 6.7 million unemployed peasants got jobs through PSNP in the country by man-hour count;C. The Construction Industry: MOWUD (2010) the industry grew faster to absorb more than 37% of the total national employment figureD. Micro-enterprise Development: more of urban development;E. Resettlement Programs: (Desalign Rahimato, 2006; Reporter, 2009; Awuramba, 2010) 175, 000 households between 2004 and 2009 specifically within Tigray, Amhara, SNNPNRS.

4.2.2. Constraints• Low payments rates, absence of accountable and transparent recruitment, inclusion and appeal procedures upon complaints and grievances (Sharp and Brown, 2006);• Unresponsiveness to dynamic target demands,• Serious shortages of data and material resources, which caused applications of such discriminatory systems like quota and vivid trends among beneficiaries to cultivate dependency on the scheme (Tekle-Birhan Gebre-Micheal, 2008);• Shortages of raw materials, inadequate availability of working promises, lack of capital and marketing problems (Habtmu, Desta and Misfine, 2011)

5. Vagaries of Peasant Surplus Labor: Trend Analysis• Remarkable successes amidst several internal and external vagaries;• Deslagn Rahmato (2008) Government domination;• Reporter (2011) resettlement programs affected by: 1.Climatic shocks; 2. kinship factors, 3. continued government support;• (Zemen, 2011) Slow demographic transition ;• Continued challenges of food insecurity as a result of least job security;

Conclusions• Largely mixed results;• More successful in absorbing the targets into jobs but less effective in causing labor transformation;• It was also a matter from bottom up affected by social traditions, the personal tastes and experiences of the individual target and above all the degrees of emergencies for daily livelihoods;• Free market mechanisms were less sound and effective;• Political factors;

Simesh Vagaries of surplus peasant labor in the eyes of the developmental state thesis - the case of Ethiopia

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Simesh Vagaries of surplus peasant labor in the eyes of the developmental state thesis - the case of Ethiopia Presentation Transcript