Executive Summary
This report corresponds to the impact evaluation (IE) of the Feed the Future Tanzania Land Tenure Assistance (LTA) activity commissioned by the Office of Land and Urban in the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment (USAID/E3). The evaluation uses a two-phase 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 Phase II baseline for the IE, which includes a snapshot of key demographics, household characteristics and outcome variables. The report also covers the Phase I midline and provides comparisons between the Phase I midline and baseline data. The document further provides a robust overview of key metrics for households in rural Iringa, and investigates whether changes have occurred between the two Phase I data collection rounds.
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 use rights in the form of a Certificate of Customary Right of Occupancy (CCRO).1 However, insufficient capacity of 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 recognize that improving the security of land rights is essential to protecting the rights of smallholders, reducing disputes and tensions and maximizing the economic potential of the region.
USAID/Tanzania awarded the four-year, $6 million LTA activity to DAI in December 2015. The activity seeks 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 provides 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 is being implemented in 36 villages: six that were chosen for initial implementation, and an additional 30 in Iringa District, Tanzania as part of the IE.