Land Governance II
The Land Governance II (LaGo II) project supports Ethiopian partners to establish land consolidation as a key instrument to achieve a sustainable land governance in Ethiopia.Nearly 80‐85% of Ethiopia's population relies on agriculture for employment, with smallholder agriculture alone accounting for 85% of the country's total agricultural output. However, the small farms comprising many scattered plots operated by highland households pose a significant challenge, as fragmentation worsens prevalent issues such as food insecurity, low productivity and efficiency, lack of investment, and limited rural economic development. Land consolidation is vital for mitigating the abovementioned issues by, i.e. reducing land disputes and production and transportation costs, offering the potential for higher yields and fostering climate‐resilient agriculture through increased investment in irrigation systems and sustainable land management practices. An additional advantage of land consolidation is its contribution to fairer land access, especially for women, and facilitates rural infrastructural development.
To address these pressing issues, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has included land consolidation as a critical component in Ethiopia's strategies for agriculture and rural development. As part of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) funded stand‐alone technical cooperation module "Land Governance II" (LaGo II), this initiative aims to advance the piloting of land consolidation in the Amhara region and prepare additional regions for the process, drawing from the lessons learned during LaGo I. With guidance from the MoA's Rural Land Administration and Use Directorate (RLAUD), the consultant will support Amhara's Bureau of Land (BoL) in implementing the pilot project for land consolidation and voluntary land exchange. Additionally, the consultant will facilitate institutional capacity development to prepare regional and woreda‐level administrations in other regions to undertake similar initiatives.