A group of experts are expected to table a proposal to higher officials of the Ministry of Agriculture for the formation of an autonomous body that will administer lands.

Known as the Land Administration Organisation, the office will be tasked with administering both rural and urban land. It will also have the responsibility of deciding landholding rights, assessing the size and value of land, presiding over tax issues, and determining land usage and permitting.

The proposal is part of the ongoing agricultural reform efforts, included in the draft of the Agricultural Sector 10-year Strategy plan. Written by a group of experts, the document is expected to be tabled to the cabinet of the Ministry on February 24, 2020, for approval.

Once established, the Organisation will be mandated with restructuring policy, laying out legal frameworks and digitizing information according to available deeds. It will also outline the prioritized land use for development purposes and assign bodies within the administration to govern the land usages.

Different departments within the Organisation will be formed to oversee the land used for agricultural, urban, industrial, religious, and reforestation purposes.

According to the draft proposal, the formation of the Organisation is aimed at addressing the administration problems associated with land use.

There is a need for an organisation that will administer both rural and urban land use based on knowledge and organised data, says Anteneh Girma (PhD), senior policy adviser at the Ministry of Agriculture.

"The new entity will work on making the sector have a sustainable contribution to the economy without competing with other sectors such as real estate and hotel," he said during a meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister three weeks ago.

Because of beauracratic bottlenecks, prime farmlands availed for other purposes have been lying fallow, their value wasted, says Tigistu Gebermeskel, director of rural land administration at the Ministry.

“Every sector has its own plan for using land without considering the other sectors," said Tigistu, "this leads to competition for land resulting in conflicts and improper use of land."