Overview
Land is an important resource for the social, economic, and political transformation of the people of Kenya, and for the country’s sustainable development. Stronger land rights create an enabling environment for improved livelihoods, gender equality, climate resilience, peace and stability. Agriculture is vital to Kenya, accounting for a third of the national economy. Almost three quarters of Kenyans depend on farming for their livelihoods. Without secure land rights, Kenya’s smallholder farmers—many of whom are women—remain stuck in a cycle of low crop yields, food insecurity, and poverty.
Gender equality in land rights are avowed in the Constitution of Kenya. Yet in reality, many of Kenya’s women experience insecure land rights and are often left accessing land through their male relatives. Deep social and cultural norms that deny women and girls from owning land, inadequate access to legal information on land rights, land disputes, poor and inaccessible land administration services are some of the barriers that women and girls face.
For agricultural activities such as crop farming and nomadic pastoralism to thrive, we need secure land rights for both women and men smallholder farmers, and fast tracking the implementation of Community Land Act 2016 towards registration of community land in Kenya.
Current Initiatives in Kenya
Agricultural Systems Change Initiative
Landesa is laying the foundation for millions of smallholder farmers to make long-term investments in their land, ultimately seeking to reduce extreme poverty, protect the environment, and shape a more gender-equitable future for Kenya. Implemented in partnership with One Acre Fund with funding support from Co-Impact, our project seeks to strengthen land rights for 670,000 households—more than 80% of which are led by women. Under the same partnership, this project is also being implemented in Rwanda in collaboration with Ministry of Environment and the National Land Authority.
Selected Past Projects
YieldWise Initiative
Under the Rockefeller Foundation’s YieldWise Initiative, Landesa researched the role of land rights in the mango value chain in Kenya. Among its recommendations, Landesa urged for government and agriculture-based investors to take steps to strengthen land rights for women and for youth among mango growers. Read the white paper >>
Kenya Justice Project
Landesa in partnership with USAID, launched a pilot project to help ensure that Kenya’s women are aware of and can enjoy the rights and freedoms afforded them in the country’s new constitution. This pilot project spurred significant positive change within rural communities by educating women, tribal elders and chiefs, teachers, and youth about women’s new rights – especially their rights to family resources like land. Following the pilot, women in the community report reduced violence and increased economic empowerment. Girls are attending high school in unprecedented numbers, and tribal elders reported reduced conflict within the community. Women have been elected to the council of elders – the customary dispute resolution body – for the first time in the pilot community.
Following the success of this model’s pilot, Landesa released an Implementation Guide to equip Kenyan organizations so they can replicate the model and improve women’s rights to land in the areas where they work. View the Implementation Guide >>
Technical Legal Assistance
Landesa provided, with support from USAID, technical assistance on draft land legislation to the Government of Kenya and civil society stakeholders. Landesa completed two analyses of the community land bill, and analyzed the Land Bill and the Land Registration Bill from the perspective of key principles set forth in the Kenyan Constitution, the National Land Policy (NLP), and international conventions and best practices.
Assessments and Legal Analysis
Landesa conducted a series of assessments and performed a legal analysis to inform the design and implementation of a USAID supported conservation and livelihoods project in the Mara River watershed area. Landesa activities included field assessments of land tenure; review and analysis of law and practice governing compulsory acquisition and women’s land rights.
Our Impact
Landesa’s Justice Project piloted a successful model for improving women’s access to customary justice related to land in rural areas. The USAID-funded pilot raised awareness of women’s land rights, enlisted local traditional authorities to better protect those rights, and engaged the community to examine and change discriminatory land practices. The model holds great potential for scaling within Kenya and in other sub-Saharan African countries.
Landesa provided technical assistance on land legislation to the Government of Kenya and civil society, including analysis of draft land bills and comparison with international best practices.