The Necessity for OPEN DATA on Land & Property Rights: a GODAN Action briefing paper

Date of publication: April 2018
Resource Language: English
Pages: 16
License: Creative Commons Attribution

This briefing paper is published as a thematic scoping for GODAN Action, which enables data users, producers and intermediaries to effectively engage with open data and maximize its potential for impact in the agriculture and nutrition sectors. GODAN Action targets those using and publishing data to improve agriculture and nutrition policy and practice, and aims to help these stakeholders to not only understand the value of open data for agriculture and nutrition but also to provide the tools and skills needed to help them engage with it practically.
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Over a billion people worldwide, predominately smallholder farmers, lack secure land rights, which are crucial for obtaining loans and providing the long-term visibility necessary for planning successful agricultural operations. Development agencies, governments and agricultural stakeholders alike are increasingly recognizing the need for land data in support of secure property rights as a mechanism for ensuring sustainable economic development.

Data and information on land are fundamental for enabling smallholder farmers to gain secure access and control over their land, which provides the basis for investing in their operations.

The briefing paper "The Necessity for Open Data on land and property rights" outlines the importance and benefits of increasing the availability and accessibility of land information in support of improved food security and nutrition.

Making land data available as open data provides numerous public and societal benefits. Open data surrounding land transactions increases accountability and transparency, while reducing corruption. Open data technologies enable mapping and access to information on land rights, which in turn can lead to more protection for community and smallholder farmers.

As part of the GODAN Action project, the Land Portal Foundation leads the thematic area of Land Data, which aims to explore the potential of open data to:

  • improve sustainable land use planning,
  • facilitate access to justice,
  • address rural employment,
  • build collective bargaining potential among farmers and the organizations that represent them. 

In this webinar How open data on land and property rights can improve global food security and nutrition”, Laura Meggiolaro shares the challenges and potential of land-related data for agriculture and nutrition and describes cutting-edge initiatives and their potential to contribute to enhancing food security and nutrition.

P.S. "...how people use things in order to make those things easier to use", - Open standards for data: adoption, approaches and impact, Open Data Institute, Knowledge & Opinion, February, 2018

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