Land Scarcity, Tenure Change and Public Policy in the African Case of Ethiopia: Evidence on Efficacy and Unmet Demands for Land Rights

Despite the apparent abundance of land, agricultural land with a dependable growing period represents a fraction of the total land area in Ethiopia. Moreover, land degradation is extensive and severe, particularly in the highlands above 1500 meters above sea level, which account for about 40 percent of the total land area but home for 90 percent of the total population and 70 percent of livestock. Population continues to grow rapidly in these highlands and exert pressure on diminishing supplies of agricultural land, particularly arable land for cultivation and pasture. There are signs of declining farm size and fragmentation, and excess demand for land such as pushing cultivation onto marginal lands (i.e., steep slopes, low rainfall zone), rural landlessness, and increasing land rentals.