EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This baseline report corresponds to the impact evaluation (IE) of the Feed the Future Tanzania Land Tenure Assistance (LTA) activity that the Office of Land and Urban in the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment commissioned. The evaluation incorporates a randomized controlled trial design to rigorously test how mobile mapping and facilitation of land tenure certification affect income, women’s empowerment, dispute prevalence, and other factors related to land use and tenure security in Iringa District, Tanzania. This document provides findings from the IE baseline, which show a snapshot of key demographics, household characteristics, and outcome variables. The document also investigates the balance between treatment and control groups and revisits the power calculations from the evaluation design proposal using parameters from the baseline dataset.
LTA ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION
Tanzania presents a dynamic land tenure context. All land in Tanzania is owned by the state and held in trust by the president, but individuals residing on or using designated “Village Land” have the right to obtain formal documentation of their tenure rights in the form of a Certificate of Customary Right of Occupancy (CCRO).1 However, insufficient capacity in district land offices (DLOs) that issue CCROs, a lack of funds to pay CCRO fees, unfamiliarity with formal land laws, and other factors have resulted in few villagers obtaining formal documentation for their plots. Increasingly, the Government of Tanzania (GOT) and the donor community are recognizing that improving the security of land rights is essential to protect the rights of smallholders, reduce disputes and tensions, and maximize the economic potential of the region.
USAID/Tanzania awarded the four-year, a $6 million LTA activity to DAI in December 2015 to clarify and document land ownership, support local land use planning efforts, and increase local understanding of land use and land rights in Tanzania. The LTA activity assists villages and the local DLO in Iringa and Mbeya districts in completing the land use planning process and delivering CCROs in select villages. It also includes education on land laws, CCROs, and land management. The LTA activity is using the Mobile Application to Secure Tenure (MAST), an app that facilitates the mapping and CCRO process. The LTA activity will be implemented in 36 villages: 6 that were chosen for initial implementation and the additional 30 as part of the IE in Iringa District, Tanzania.