USAID is pleased to announce a first-of-its-kind partnership between the Governments of Ethiopia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Federal Republic of Germany to improve rural land governance. Building on existing programs and the seven land country partnerships announced at this year’s G8 Open for Growth Summit, this new partnership will support greater transparency in rural land governance, promote responsible agricultural investment, and improve Ethiopia’s legal framework and practices related to rural land administration and land use.
The partnership will foster further collaboration between Ethiopia and its development partners to strengthen rural land governance and realize the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. This partnership will also support the Government of Ethiopia to implement its Rural Land Administration and Use Plan and to achieve its existing commitments under the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, a partnership among G8 members, African nations, and the private sector to lift 50 million people out of poverty through coordinated policy reforms and responsible agricultural investment. In addition, it will help Ethiopia’s development partners to amplify the impact of their development support by coordinating efforts, sharing knowledge, and leveraging limited resources.
One of the programs involved in this new partnership is USAID’s recently launched Land Administration to Nurture Development (LAND) project. The LAND project works to strengthen the capacity of federal and regional land administration agencies, to improve the legal frameworks for rural land administration and land use, and to expand the documentation of rural land use rights, including in pastoral areas.
“The United States applauds the Government of Ethiopia for its commitment to strengthen rural land governance and welcomes this opportunity to collaborate more closely with our partners. This partnership provides a model for greater coordination that will improve the effectiveness of our investments in securing land tenure and property rights. We hope to see more of these partnerships developed in the future,” said Dr. Gregory Myers, USAID Division Chief, Land Tenure and Property Rights.