Factors Affecting Land Management Performancein Ethiopia: The Case of Wolmera Woreda

The main objective of this study is to identify major factors affecting rural land management performance in Walmara woreda, West Shoa zone of the Oromia regional state. The document also investigated the impact of land certification on farmers' perceived land tenure security and land management practices, particularly its advantages for economic empowerment and sense of ownership. To identify the main factors for land management performance and show direction for policymakers for land degradation that adversely affects the land management performance of the agricultural sector. The simple random sampling method was used to collect data from 377 respondents in Wolmera Woreda, in Berfeta Tokefa, and Nano Geneti Kebele. Both primary and secondary data were collected from different sources, including rural land administration and use at regional, zonal, district, and kebele levels as the primary source of our data, and other reports and publications were also used as secondary data sources. Primary data were collected using semi structured interviews, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and office and field observation. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, including mean, median, frequency, and bar charts. Findings from both focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews indicate that farmers’ land tenure security and access to financial loans improved following land certification. Moreover, land management practices such as tree planting and investment in organic fertilisers showed notable increases after farmers obtained land certification and access to credit. This highlights land certification as a key strategy for enhancing farmers’ land management. Consequently, both the federal government and regional states should prioritize issuing certified land titles for all rural lands to strengthen land management performance nationwide, with particular attention to Walmera woreda.