Dear Colleagues and Friends

We're delighted to share this annual report with you to give you a sense of the unprecedented opportunities Landesa is working on.

When the government of Kenya needed to rewrite all of its major land laws to help bring security and opportunity to rural Kenyans, Landesa staff were there to help.

When the government of Tanzania wanted to design a policy that would ensure rural Tanzanians were not pushed off their land by large investors, Landesa staff were there to help.

When the state government of Odisha discovered that it had tens of thousands of women-headed households living in extreme poverty and set out to aid these landless and vulnerable women, Landesa staff were there to help.

Such highly leveraged work makes large impact possible. A well-written law, policy, or program doesn't just help a single family, or village, it can impact hundreds of millions at one time.

That was the case this year.

In India, the national government is now considering, thanks in part to Landesa's work, an ambitious new land policy that would guarantee all landless rural Indians — an estimated 20 million desperately poor families — a micro-plot of land.

This year we worked together with state governments in India to bring legal land rights to 248,953 families.

This was also a historic year in China. In early 2013, the Chinese government issued a policy document stating that within five years all 200 million rural households in China will be included in the country's first unified farmland registration system, providing those families with unprecedented security.

Landesa's China staff have been working towards this moment for years. We began by advising central government agencies and international development partners on how to design, pilot, and establish a land registration system that formally registers every farmers' land use rights. Such a system not only helps protect farmers and encourages rural development, it also allows the government to more systematically protect natural resources and promote conservation.

As you'll see from the stories in this annual report, our work has impact well beyond property lines.

Our work helped Jharna Sarkar in West Bengal, India feed herself and her son. Our work helped Nareyio Kuyo in Olpusimoru, Kenya learn her rights. Our work helped Madaleine Ngezigihe in Kabushinge, Rwanda reduce conflict with her neighbors.

What we see time and again is that land provides a foundation. When the poor are provided with secure rights over the land they rely on, they do the rest by the sweat of their brow. They seize the opportunity to be self-sufficient and improve their own lives by investing in the land and plowing the benefits right back to their family in the form of better nutrition, education, and health.

We look forward to reporting back to you in future annual reports on how the poor in Kenya, Tanzania, and India have benefited from Landesa's government partnerships; how individuals, families, and communities are becoming more secure, resilient, and are climbing out of extreme poverty.

We know that when men and women gain secure land rights they can begin to participate fully in the economy and in their communities. We thank you for your support and look forward to continued partnership.

Sincerely,

Tim Hanstad
Landesa President and CEO

Mike McGavick
Chairman of the Board (outgoing)