Effects of Land Certification for Rural Farm Households in Ethiopia: Evidence from Gozamin District, Ethiopia
Economic theory notes tenure security is a critical factor in agricultural investment and productivity. Therefore, several African countries’ development initiatives enabled land titling to enhance tenure security. This paper examines the effect of land certification on tenure security, land investm...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-10-01
|
| Series: | Land |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/11/421 |
| _version_ | 1797549294940585984 |
|---|---|
| author | Abebaw Andarge Gedefaw Clement Atzberger Walter Seher Sayeh Kassaw Agegnehu Reinfried Mansberger |
| author_facet | Abebaw Andarge Gedefaw Clement Atzberger Walter Seher Sayeh Kassaw Agegnehu Reinfried Mansberger |
| author_sort | Abebaw Andarge Gedefaw |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Economic theory notes tenure security is a critical factor in agricultural investment and productivity. Therefore, several African countries’ development initiatives enabled land titling to enhance tenure security. This paper examines the effect of land certification on tenure security, land investment, crop productivity and land dispute in Gozamin District, Ethiopia. In addition, the impact of land certification on farm households’ perceptions and confidence in land tenure and land use rights is investigated. Face-to-face interviews with 343 randomly selected farm households, group discussions and expert panels are the sources of primary data. Quantitative data are analyzed using various statistical tools and complemented by qualitative data. According to the results, most farm households (56%) feel that their land use rights are secure after the certification process. Only 17% fear that the government at any time could take their land use rights. The majority of farm households (71.7%) identified a reduction of disputes after certification and land management practices improved from 70.3% before certification to 90.1% after certification. As key factors for the increase of terracing and the application of manure, the study determined total farm size, the average distance from farm to homestead, perception of degradation, access to credit, training to land resource management, fear about land take-over by the government and total livestock holdings. Crop productivity improved significantly after land certification. The results should encourage policy makers to minimize the sources of insecurity, such as frustrations of future land redistribution and land taking without proper land compensation. Land certification is the right tool for creating tenure security, enhancing farmers’ confidence in their land rights and—supported by a proper land use planning system—improving land-related investments and crop productivity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:12:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1a3a80c4ceba4872a7f42cd93b299bbb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:12:39Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-1a3a80c4ceba4872a7f42cd93b299bbb2023-11-20T19:12:22ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2020-10-0191142110.3390/land9110421Effects of Land Certification for Rural Farm Households in Ethiopia: Evidence from Gozamin District, EthiopiaAbebaw Andarge Gedefaw0Clement Atzberger1Walter Seher2Sayeh Kassaw Agegnehu3Reinfried Mansberger4Institute of Geomatics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Peter Jordan-Strasse 82, 1190 Vienna, AustriaInstitute of Geomatics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Peter Jordan-Strasse 82, 1190 Vienna, AustriaInstitute of Spatial Planning, Environmental Planning and Land Rearrangement, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Peter Jordan-Strasse 82, 1190 Vienna, AustriaInstitute of Land Administration, Debre Markos University (DMU), Debre Markos 269, EthiopiaInstitute of Geomatics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Peter Jordan-Strasse 82, 1190 Vienna, AustriaEconomic theory notes tenure security is a critical factor in agricultural investment and productivity. Therefore, several African countries’ development initiatives enabled land titling to enhance tenure security. This paper examines the effect of land certification on tenure security, land investment, crop productivity and land dispute in Gozamin District, Ethiopia. In addition, the impact of land certification on farm households’ perceptions and confidence in land tenure and land use rights is investigated. Face-to-face interviews with 343 randomly selected farm households, group discussions and expert panels are the sources of primary data. Quantitative data are analyzed using various statistical tools and complemented by qualitative data. According to the results, most farm households (56%) feel that their land use rights are secure after the certification process. Only 17% fear that the government at any time could take their land use rights. The majority of farm households (71.7%) identified a reduction of disputes after certification and land management practices improved from 70.3% before certification to 90.1% after certification. As key factors for the increase of terracing and the application of manure, the study determined total farm size, the average distance from farm to homestead, perception of degradation, access to credit, training to land resource management, fear about land take-over by the government and total livestock holdings. Crop productivity improved significantly after land certification. The results should encourage policy makers to minimize the sources of insecurity, such as frustrations of future land redistribution and land taking without proper land compensation. Land certification is the right tool for creating tenure security, enhancing farmers’ confidence in their land rights and—supported by a proper land use planning system—improving land-related investments and crop productivity.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/11/421boundary conflictland certificationland investmentmanure useperceived tenure securityterracing |
| spellingShingle | Abebaw Andarge Gedefaw Clement Atzberger Walter Seher Sayeh Kassaw Agegnehu Reinfried Mansberger Effects of Land Certification for Rural Farm Households in Ethiopia: Evidence from Gozamin District, Ethiopia Land boundary conflict land certification land investment manure use perceived tenure security terracing |
| title | Effects of Land Certification for Rural Farm Households in Ethiopia: Evidence from Gozamin District, Ethiopia |
| title_full | Effects of Land Certification for Rural Farm Households in Ethiopia: Evidence from Gozamin District, Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Land Certification for Rural Farm Households in Ethiopia: Evidence from Gozamin District, Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Land Certification for Rural Farm Households in Ethiopia: Evidence from Gozamin District, Ethiopia |
| title_short | Effects of Land Certification for Rural Farm Households in Ethiopia: Evidence from Gozamin District, Ethiopia |
| title_sort | effects of land certification for rural farm households in ethiopia evidence from gozamin district ethiopia |
| topic | boundary conflict land certification land investment manure use perceived tenure security terracing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/11/421 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abebawandargegedefaw effectsoflandcertificationforruralfarmhouseholdsinethiopiaevidencefromgozamindistrictethiopia AT clementatzberger effectsoflandcertificationforruralfarmhouseholdsinethiopiaevidencefromgozamindistrictethiopia AT walterseher effectsoflandcertificationforruralfarmhouseholdsinethiopiaevidencefromgozamindistrictethiopia AT sayehkassawagegnehu effectsoflandcertificationforruralfarmhouseholdsinethiopiaevidencefromgozamindistrictethiopia AT reinfriedmansberger effectsoflandcertificationforruralfarmhouseholdsinethiopiaevidencefromgozamindistrictethiopia |