Ethiopian Meadows Plc, a company engaged in the farming and sale of roses in Holeta, has returned 108ha of land to 131 farmers, following an order from the Oromia Special Zone High Court a few weeks ago. The Company allegedly did not pay rent on time in line with its contractual agreement.
Ethiopian Meadows is a subsidiary of Karatouri, which also has a presence in Kenya. The company began investment in Ethiopia a decade ago.
“Besides not properly developing the land, rent was not paid properly,” said Addis Arega, head of the Oromia Regional State Communication Bureau, on its official Facebook page.
The Company, according to Holeta City Land Development and Management Bureau, did not pay the farmers in line with the national investment law. Meadows also failed to raise its rent payments to the farmers by five percent annually, which is one criterion for investors to rent land.
“Since 2014, the company’s shareholders have fled the country without paying the farmers,” said Fekiru Karu, head of Holeta Land Management Bureau.
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