Determinants of the Land Registration Information System Operational Success: Empirical Evidence from Ethiopia

Abstract

Ethiopia has embarked on one of the largest digitalization programs for rural land registration in Africa. The program is called the national rural land administration information system (NRLAIS). Over the past couple of years, NRLAIS was rolled-out and made operational in over 180 woredas (districts). There is, however, limited empirical evidence on whether and to what extent NRLAIS has been successful. This study explores the factors that influence the acceptance and actual use of NRLAIS to gauge its operational success in Ethiopia. Data were collected both from primary and secondary sources using surveys, key informant interviews, and a literature review. Survey data were collected from 201 staff of 50 woreda land administration offices in three regional states (Amhara, Oromia, and SNNP) and analyzed using a structural equation model. The results revealed that system quality, information quality, service quality, and perceived usefulness of NRLAIS have positively and significantly influenced the acceptance and actual use of the system. However, perceived ease of use has an insignificant influence. The predictive relevance of the research model is significant and indicates substantial operational success of NRLAIS. The quick acceptance and use of NRLAIS will likely improve service delivery, promote data integration, and strengthen informed decision-making. The study recommends strengthening behavioral changes of the land administration experts through two enhanced service quality measures—technical and operational capacity to a robust and sustainable digitalization. Policymakers could leverage operational success to upgrade the NRLAIS into a unified national land registration information system that bridges the urban–rural land governance divide.

Flood disaster mitigation modeling through participation community based on the land conversion and disaster resilience

“…Before looking at the interaction of the constructs, it is necessary to fulfill the criteria for goodness of fit. The goodness of the model is determined by the strength of each structural path [52].…”

Gender Analysis of Landholding and Situation of Female-Headed Households after Land Registration: The Case of Machakel Woreda

“…A study by [62] explains that surveyors' expertise is an important factor influencing the success of parcel boundary settlement. Therefore, strengthening the technical and operational capacity of land administration experts is important for robust and sustainable digitalization [25]. Thus, the government should increase the number of male and female technical experts (GIS and surveying) to guarantee an efficient and effective implementation of second-level land registration, alongside the sustainable geospatial development of the country.…”

“…Generally, there are two levels of LRCP in Ethiopia: The first level, the registration of land parcels, began in 1998 when titles were given to landholders, and it is almost complete. The second level is based on cadastral surveying and has been supported by a digitalization program, named the National Rural Land Administration Information System (NRLAIS) [25]. The survey of parcel boundaries and land certificates with parcel maps are provided to rural households.…”

“…The survey of parcel boundaries and land certificates with parcel maps are provided to rural households. The manual records are documented in computers to facilitate a modern land administration system [25][26][27][28][29][30][31].…”

Land Perspectives: People, Tenure, Planning, Tools, Space, and Health

“…Article 13: Analyzing the Effects of Institutional Merger: Case of Cadastral Information Registration and Landholding Right Providing Institutions in Ethiopia by Chekole et al [13]. This research is based on a survey conducted with the directors of the two institutions and their employees to determine how to reduce the effects of data duplication and provide one-window services (among other factors) to improve efficiency in the Ethiopian land markets Article 14: Determinants of the Land Registration Information System Operational Success: Empirical Evidence from Ethiopia by Abab et al [14]. This research assessed the most extensive digitalization program for rural land registration in Africa.…”