Implication of land acquisition on the livelihood assets of farm households in Sebeta Hawas and Sululta Woredas of Oromia, Ethiopia

Land acquisition is a necessary change for economic development, livelihood improvement and social progress. However, land acquisition comes up with costs that could implicate with reduction and deterioration agricultural production, environment, livelihoods assets and social conduct of rural and peri-urban household. Therefore a study conducted on the implication of land acquisition on the livelihood assets of farming community in Sebeta Hawas and Sululta Weredas. The objective of this study is to examine the impacts of land acquisition on the livelihood assets of farming community. In order to attain this objective a mixed research design that combined both qualitative and quantitative approach was used. The study used household sample survey method in order to collect quantitative data from 400 farm households in Sebeta Hawas and Sululta Weredas. The qualitative data was also collected using interview and observation. Analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics. The finding of the study shows that after land use acquisition 19.25% of the total sampled households had lost the entire farm land they owned and 27.25% the total sampled households owned a farm size less than 2 hectare. The difference in the average farm size of total sampled household heads in districts before and after farm land acquisition was 1.075 hectares with statistically significant difference at (t = 15.56 p < 0.001). Thus land acquisition has created a positive and negative implication on farm household asset through changing the nature and characteristics asset holdings.