FCDO’s Land Investment for Transformation (LIFT) Programme aimed to improve the incomes of the rural poor and vulnerable groups in Ethiopia and enhance economic growth. This was through second-level land certification, and improved rural land administration. The programme focused on delivering land use right certificates for 14 million rural parcels in 140 Woredas of the Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) regional states, over the 2014-2021 period.

During 2020 and 2021, we supported the design of an evaluation and approach for the measurement of income change attributable to land certification. The research included an innovative use of mixed methods with qualitative and quantitative methods combined, and integrating satellite time-lapse mapping as well as meteorological data to develop a rich data-set and analysis.

The research led to insights into how land certification can incentivise investments that benefit climate resilience, most notably planting of trees, which can be linked to the increased tenure security that land titles can bring.

A summary of the research can be found in this blog on the Land Portal here.

A more detailed summary of the research can be found by Joseph Holden and Enrico Neumann on the Beam Exchange here.