ADDIS ABABA (FBC/ USAID Ethiopia)– The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on 12 November 2019 launched its new Land Governance Activity that will strengthen policy, management, and administration to improve land tenure and rights for farmers and pastoralists in Ethiopia.
USAID Mission Director Sean Jones, Ethiopian State Minister of Urban Development and Construction, Tazer Gebre-Egziabher, and Tigistu Gebremeskel, Director of the Land Administration and Use Directorate of the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, inaugurated the new project, which is part of a collaborative US-Ethiopia partnership to strengthen land governance over the past 15 years.
This new five-year $11 million project will build on United State’s partnership with Ethiopia in strengthening policy, management, and administration to improve land tenure and rights for farmers and pastoralists in Ethiopia – building on progress made in increasing land tenure security over more than a decade. As a result, many more farmers and pastoralists – particularly women – now have better land use rights, resulting in greater farm productivity and increased incomes for their families.
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The USAID Land Governance Activity will also focus on policy and management efforts to address emerging land-related challenges, including rapid urbanization and degradation of soil and arable land.
“Improving planning, policy and land management is critical to helping Ethiopian farmers and families reap the fruits of their labor more fully, and have better opportunities for themselves and their children to fulfill the bright future they deserve,” said USAID Mission Director Sean Jones during the launch of USAID’s Land Governance Activity.
The United States is the largest bilateral donor to Ethiopia and has invested approximately USD 4 billion in development and humanitarian assistance over the past five years to help people across the country lead healthier and more prosperous lives.
Source: FBC/ USAID Ethiopia