Migration and Rural-Urban Linkages in Ethiopia

agricultural development units in places like Arssi and Wolayita contributed to thedevelopment of urban services and flocking of people to these centres. Towns in thesouth such as Shashemene became centres for the acquisition and maintenance ofmachinery, supply of fertilisers and veterinary services as well as for the service ofvehicles and recruitment of trained personnel. The urban centres also served as safecorridors for evicted rural households to migrate to other provinces or work in the townsas daily labourers. Among the rapidly growing urban areas, mainly within the Rift Valleydue to the combined effect of the simultaneous development of the transport system,trade and the introduction of mechanised farming, were Asella, Nazareth, Mojo, Meki,Shashemene, Awassa, Dilla, Yirgalem, Negelle, Yabello and Moyale.The emergence of commercial agricultural sites in the Setit-Humera lowlands in northwesternEthiopia and the plains of Jijiga also attracted both labourers and peasantfarmers. In 1976, for example, three-quarters of the farm labourers engaged in sixteenirrigation schemes in the Awash valley were temporary or permanent immigrants (Kloos,1988). Areas of considerable land pressure such as Kembata and Hadiya in SouthernShewa, were considered to be the main suppliers for such rural-to-rural migration(Beyene, 1985).In the south-west, notably in Kefa and Illubabor provinces, the development of coffeeproduction attracted seasonal and permanent labour and the development of urban areaslike Agaro, Jimma, Seka, Metu and Gore (Alula, 1989; Bondestam, 1973; McDowell,1996). There was considerable circular movement of labour to and from these areas.During the early 1970s, Wood (1981)estimated that more than 50,000 seasonal migrantshad migrated to the coffee regions. The majority of these labourers were reported to havemigrated from areas of environmental degradation and natural disasters especiallyGojjam, Gondar and Wollo in Amhara, and Tigray. The movement also included itineranttraders and sex workers.In general, the development of these and other Ethiopian towns exhibited the migration ofvarious categories of people who came to resettle as trade migrants, civil servants,soldiers, construction workers and domestic workers. Female migrants working in mostof the drinking and eating establishments in urban areas also worked as commercial sexworkers (Bethlehem ( 2005)quoting Lakech, 1978).The Imperial Government of Ethiopia, like its successors, had attempted to organise theimplementation of planned relocation of the population during the mid-1960s with theaim of reducing poverty, increasing access to land and protecting citizens from famine.However, until 1974 the implementation of the population redistribution was limited dueto the private land tenure system and high operational costs (Eshetu & Teshome, 1983).The Socialist Derg Period (1974-91)This regime was known for introducing drastic political and economic reforms includingthe confiscation of rural and urban private lands, the closure of private mechanised8