Why did Italian colonial land policies create a shortage of land for Eritrean farmers?

During the period of Italian colonial rule in Eritrea, the shortage of land for local farmers was primarily caused by the systematic appropriation of the country's most fertile agricultural regions.12

The colonial administration reserved a sizable portion of the best farmland for Italian settlers and established a plantation sector to supply produce for urban markets. This displacement occurred simultaneously with a period of rapid population growth among the Eritrean people. The combination of losing access to prime agricultural land and an increasing number of people needing to support themselves forced many Eritrean farmers to abandon their traditional livelihoods and migrate to urban centers, which ultimately contributed to the formation of an Eritrean working class.12