Using the Cloud for unregistered land
It is estimated that less than 30 percent of land is registered in developing countries and where it is, records are usually not up to date. Furthermore, the land administration system is still vulnerable to corruption and administrative bottlenecks.
One central objective of the project is to bring land administration services closer to the end-user: poor small-scale farmers. The process and software developed through the project will allow for stronger involvement of stakeholders by applying shared-ledger principles. This means that different stakeholders will be involved in the verification process for registering mutations. Data will be stored and secured via blockchain. This enables long-term functioning land administration systems and a reduction in conflicts.
The project revolves around two central components:
- Using the basic logical components of shared-ledger technology, a process will be developed that can bring land administration closer to the end-user while limiting potential for abuse.
- A blockchain based software component will be developed to store and secure land administration data.
Putting trust and money in the system
A decentralised service can significantly decrease transaction costs for the end-user. Through giving people a stronger say in the administration of the land data, buy-in and trust in the system would also increase.
This can also make it possible to raise small fees for the provided service that would contribute to its financial sustainability, something that currently poses a significant obstacle. A decentralised, digital registration would also reduce the direct and indirect cost of centralised structures that are slow and cost-intensive. Storing the land administration data in a blockchain could reinforce the trust in the system on all sides while it can also reduce long-term administration costs.
