Seventy-five percent of the world's poorest people live in rural areas where land is a critical asset, but more than half these families lack either access to land or a secure stake in the land they farm. Landesa partners with governments to provide policy and implementation support to strengthen the land rights of millions of men and women in rural African communities. Your donation will support our activities across Africa, including targeted projects in Liberia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
Landlessness is the single best predictor of poverty around the globe. The vast majority of the world's poorest people share three traits: they live in rural areas, they rely on agriculture to survive, and they do not have legal control over their land. In Africa, over 90% of rural land is still undocumented leaving many farmers without secure land tenure and reinforcing the cycle of poverty. Women are especially vulnerable as they often can only access land through a male relative.
Landesa addresses land insecurity through research, policy reform, and educating people about their rights to own and inherit land. In Liberia, Landesa is advocating for the Land Rights Act and educating people through community outreach and legal literacy programs. We are working with the Tanzanian government to develop policies protecting land rights for rural families. Across Africa, Landesa is building a network of women's land rights champions through regional gatherings of activists.
People with secure rights to their land are more likely to make long-term investments that improve their harvest, increase health and nutrition, send children to school, empower women, and encourage environmentally sustainable farming practices. Land rights help create change that is enduring and multi-generational. Landesa has been working in 50+ countries for 50+ years, and we have strengthened land rights for over 120 million people worldwide. Your support will help us reach many more.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
