Abstract:
This study focused on analyzing the impacts of the expansion of Jimma City Administration on the
livelihoods of the surrounding rural farming communities and the biophysical environment. On this
research is across-sectional in its type, and it employed a descriptive survey design. Out of 2530
target population of the study, 384 households were taken by using the Kotharie formula with a
combination of purposive and convenient random sampling techniques. Data were collected from
sampled household heads using questionnaires, surveys, focus group discussions and key informant
interviews. In addition, city leaders, village administrators, various professionals and experts were
sampled via systematic random sampling technique and judgmental technique for Focus Group
Discussion (FG) and interview. The results disclosed that most of the damage caused by urban
expansion was loss of agricultural land, loss of housing, animal migration, deforestation, soil erosion
and drought. The most impact of urban expansion on the community has been mentioned to be loss of
farm land and biodiversity. Similarly, the major environmental problems in the areas affected by
urban expansion are loss of agricultural land, pasture land, vegetation land coupled with
deforestation, livestock migration, and drought and soil erosion. Land use is spatial, and there are
often modifications to build land cover more towards land use. The livelihood condition of periurban community has been changed to non-agricultural, and there is also policy and strategy gaps
for expropriating and compensating the affected community. Thus, the dislocation program is not
rehabilitative, and it negatively affected the livelihood of the dislocated farming community.
Therefore, landholder expropriate should be recompensed for equal socio-economic benefits from
urbanization. Skill oriented training for new livelihood and rehabilitating strategy for the affected
community should be done. Equally important, farmers should get a significant amount of
compensation so as to let them lead a stable livelihood.
