Abstract:
Urbanization is one of the most impactful human activities across the world today affecting the
quality of urban life and its sustainable development. However, Horizontal expansions of urban
centers in developing countries have significant impact on the livelihoods of peri urban
communities. Impacts of horizontal urban expansion include loss of agricultural land
displacement of peasants’ unemployment and change of their livelihood. This study investigated
the impacts of Jimma city expansion on the livelihood of the farming community in the study
area. Out of 13 Kebeles of Jimma city three of them were included in the study, from which 202
respondents were selected using different sampling techniques. Jimma city is one of the largest
urban centers in southwestern part of Oromiya in which its expansion has influencing peri urban
community’s livelihood by changing urban fringe agricultural land into built up area.. The
livelihood of per urban communities before land expropriation and after land expropriation is
changed from 3000Eth Birr per month to unemployment. This study assured that those
communities led better livelihood before they lost their agricultural land due to urban expansion.
Also the study indicated that there are opportunities of infrastructure improvement and socio
_economic growth related to urban expansion and encourage the livelihood of farming
communities in the study area.
.Thus the study conducted to analyze the spatio –temporal Expansion of Jimma City and its
Impacts on the livelihoods of farmer households in the peri-urban of the study area.. In addition
the objectives of the study was; to identify the drives of Jimma city expansions to its peri urban
area and; to assess the impacts of horizontal expansion of the City on the land tenure security
and livelihood of small holder farmers in the expansion areas. The researcher take a total of
202(88%) samples of farmers 143(76%) from displaced,30(15%)from non-displaced farmers
through systematic and purposive sampling 23(12.9%) officials and Influential personnel for
interviews and FGDs.
Data was collected through questionnaires interviews and FGDs .Due to the urban expansion
81.5% hectares of farmland has been converted to urban land use from the selected 202 sample
farm household in the peri urban of the study areas. Out of these half of them 63(45%) their land
were expropriated with the descent of farmer household. According to the data gathered through
questionnaires, interviews and local administrative (Municipality) 202 farmers households were
displaced from their farmland due to the horizontal urban expansion in the study area between
the year (2002—2022).Among the total displaced households 61 (34.4%}were expropriated their
farmland due to squatter settlement 46(29.9%) displaced by government dislocation 37
(20.9%}were expropriated by municipality administrative issues and 30(16.9%) and almost 3%
of them were lost their land because of investment and adjustment of the City’s plan without the
consent of farmer community. The regional government and City administrative should review
the laws which were adopted in relation to land expropriation of peri- urban area and farmers
should train and co-operate in order to create alternative sources of livelihood.
