Efficiency Impact of the Communal Land Distribution Program in Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

A rapid increase in population in sub-Saharan Africa has caused a decrease in farm size, an increase in the number of landless farmers, and soil erosion in communal forests due to increasing utilization. Ethiopia has addressed this problem by introducing an epoch-making privatization policy for the allocation of communal land to landless farmers. This policy promotes the economic utilization of the communal land while protecting natural resources. Hitherto, few studies have evaluated the impact of the policy. We evaluate the effect of the communal land distribution policy for tree-planting using technical efficiency of farm production by estimating a stochastic production function model in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. We compare the technical efficiencies of farm production between both participating and nonparticipating farms in the program using a quasi-experimental method. The results reveal the improvement of technical efficiency through communal land distribution. Therefore, program activities could increase farm incomes while maintaining land conservation. Thus, the allocation of communal land promotes sustainable land utilization in the mountainous areas of sub-Saharan Africa.

Can Degraded Communal Hillside Allocation to Landless Youth Improve Woody Vegetation Recovery? A Study in the Drylands of Ethiopia

“…Globally, about 10 to 20% of the dry lands are already degraded, and about 12 million ha is degrading each year (Yirdaw et al, 2017). The natural vegetation in communal lands was highly degraded for fuel wood, timber and grazing (Gebremedhin et al, 2001), which in turn led to loss of biodiversity (Oniki et al, 2020). For example, more than 80% of the energy used in developing countries such as Tigray, northern Ethiopia, comes from biomass (Gebremichael and Waters-Bayer, 2007;Shahzad et al, 2023).…”

Access to irrigation and its impact on vulnerability to poverty and food security amongst South African farming households.

“…This highlights the fact that a lack of land ownership may impede large investments in irrigation infrastructure because communal land is allocated to a specific group of farmers for a specific type of farming, and inputs are mostly supplied by the government or the allocating organisation. In Ethiopia, for example, communal land allotted to young farmers is strictly to be used for tree planting, agroforestry, fodder collection for livestock, and apiculture (Oniki et al, 2020). As a result, people lack decision-making authority over the use of communal lands, and the decision to participate in irrigation is beyond the control of individual farmers.…”