1. Women and land: Lessons from IFAD-supported projects Harold Liversage International Fund for Agricultural Development Land and Poverty Conference, World Bank, March 2015

2. Women and land rights Women tend to be denied or are assigned weaker land rights Strengthening their rights to land contributes not only to gender equality but also to poverty Reduction Improving women’s economic status is essential for overall improvement in their social status and well- being, but for women’s economic status to improve, they need secure access to land Under customary law, women tend to have weaker but nonetheless protected rights. These rights tend to be eroded in rapidly changing societies

3. Examples of IFAD supported projects Burundi – “clinics” that disseminate legal information, encouraging rural women to fight discrimination and exercise their rights in land cases involving family relations and inheritance Ethiopia - women’s representation on the Land Administration and Use Committees appears to be having a positive impact on resolving disputes over women’s land ownership Ghana - agreements were negotiated with tindanas and traditional chiefs

4. Examples of IFAD supported projects Gambia - catalyst in the devolution of individually owned land to the community, and in the redistribution and equitable sharing of new communal land among individuals, mainly women, participating in land reclamation works Burkina Faso - inclusive and highly participatory approach to overcome very strong socio-cultural obstacles and win acceptance of the principle that women as well as men had rights of access to plots on the land developed with project assistance

5. Lessons learned Defending and expanding women’s rights requires comprehensive action at different levels: information and capacity building; organizational and empowerment measures; legal assistance and advocacy A gender analysis is critical to design effective, targeted actions It is often necessary to put complementary measures in place to enable women to influence decisions about their rights to land