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Land Tenure, Gender, and Productivity in Ethiopia and Tanzania

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Women and Sustainable Human Development

Part of the book series: Gender, Development and Social Change ((GDSC))

Abstract

Agricultural land use and tenure systems in many African countries are characterized by subsistence production and a communal land tenure system. Reforming the tenure system in a way that ensures tenure security could promote sustainable agriculture in the region. In addition, the right of women to own land is essential for rural development. This chapter, therefore, analyses the gender differential effects of land tenure security on productivity in East Africa using Living Standard Measurement Study data from Ethiopia and Tanzania. The chapter uses plot- and household-level data to investigate the effect of land title and other determinants of crop productivity. The main results show that tenure security positively and significantly affects households’ productivity in general and is marginally significant for female-headed households in particular. Potential indicators that positively correlate with crop productivity are total land and plot sizes, inorganic fertilizer use, input credit access, herbicide use, soil, and plot type. Policy implications are based on the results.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. United Nations University (UNU-MERIT), Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Tigist M. Melesse & Yesuf M. Awel

  2. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Tigist M. Melesse & Yesuf M. Awel

Authors
  1. Tigist M. Melesse
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  2. Yesuf M. Awel
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Correspondence to Tigist M. Melesse .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. United Nations University (UNU-MERIT), Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Maty Konte  & Nyasha Tirivayi  & 

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Melesse, T.M., Awel, Y.M. (2020). Land Tenure, Gender, and Productivity in Ethiopia and Tanzania. In: Konte, M., Tirivayi, N. (eds) Women and Sustainable Human Development. Gender, Development and Social Change. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14935-2_6

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