Farmers and the Land

" The fundamental obstacle to the realisation of the full measure of Ethiopia's agricultural potential has been, simply stated, lack of security in the land. The fruits of the farmer's labor must be enjoyed by him whose toil produced the crop. The essence of land reform is, while fully respecting the principle of private ownership , that landless people must have the opportunity to possess their own land, that the position of tennant farmers must be improved, and that the system of taxation applying to land holdings must be the same for all. It is Our aim that every Ethiopian own his own land, and in implementation of this principle, We have Ourself set the example by ordering that certain lands in Arussi Province heretofore administered by Our Ministry of the Imperial Court be distributed to the tenants working on them, against payment by each man only of the nominal fees charged for the transfer and the registration of this property in his own name. This has been the basic objective of virtually every modern programme of land reform; this is the ultimate goal of the study now being undertaken by the Committee on Land Reform. "

H.I.M. Haile Selassie Nov. 2, 1961