Descriptive statistics based on the digitized leases show how, by making available administrative data that thus far had been locked up on paper, computerization can expand transparency and opportunities for policy action and analysis. Focusing on textual data only,<sup>14</sup> table 2 shows that, with some 1.5 million ha (1.35 and 0.14 in agricultural and non-agricultural estates, respectively) in 58,733 leases (35,140 and 23,593 for agricultural and non-agricultural land), total area under estates is larger than had been estimated by ELUS. Agricultural estates measure 39.8 ha on average, with the largest ones in the South. While most agricultural estates are in the 10-30 ha group, 6% (952,847 ha) and 0.6% (603,705 ha) of estate area is in estates larger than 50 or 500 ha, respectively. Data suggest that the prescribed process for obtaining a lease was not always completed; in fact, only 36% of all leases (42% of agricultural ones) are supported by a deed. And 34% (37% of agricultural ones) have only a letter of offer and 30% (21% of agricultural ones) remained at the application stage. The quality of spatial documentation varies; while 2% of leases for agricultural estates (and 18% for non-agricultural ones) are surveyed and accompanied by a deed plan, 52% (and 66% for nonagricultural ones) have not advanced beyond the sketch plan whereas for 46% (and 16% for non-agricultural ones) the sketch was redrawn by the survey department.<sup>15</sup> For 7,819 agricultural estates with a total area of 404,584 ha, documents lack data on lease duration.<sup>16</sup> With a mean annual rent of less than US$ 1/ha for agricultural estates and US$ 27/ha for non-agricultural ones, the value of public revenue from such rents eroded over time, implying that yield may be below the cost of collection. To illustrate the potential revenue from agricultural leases, we note that, according to the 2010/11 Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS-ISA), the mean price of an existing lease is US$ 58/ha and the price at which respondents would be willing to lease in additional land is somewhat above $50/ha.<sup>17</sup> Even a compliance rate of 50% could generate annual lease revenue of some US$ 35 million in addition to providing strong incentives for effective land use.

The potential for collecting ground rent is further eroded by the fact that, in 2016, leases for 70% of agricultural estates had expired and 22% were indeterminate (compared to 9% and 48% for non-agricultural ones, respectively). In fact, with 3% due to expire in less than 10 years, only 5% of agricultural estates (vs. 41% of non-agricultural ones) had remaining lease terms beyond 10 years. This could negatively affect productivity by increasing tenure insecurity and undermining investment incentives and also by limiting

> 14 We report differences in estate sizes between the lease record and the spatial analysis of mapped boundaries in appendix table 1. 15 Sketch Plans are plans that have been validated by a licensed surveyor, most of them private companies, but are generally of low quality and accuracy. Survey Drawn (SD) sketch plans normally just involve reproduction of the information provided in application sketch plans by the Survey Department in a homogeneous format without conducting a (re-)survey in the field. Deed plans are resurveyed by the Surveys Department and thus of much higher geographical accuracy.

> 16 Discussions suggest that many individuals might have believed that omission of the start date or duration of a lease would imply that their lease was de facto of unlimited duration and in some cases such omission may have been associated with fraudulent practices.

> 17 Please note that the LSMS-ISA sample intentionally excludes the estate sector, thus the lease rate refers to what is paid outside the estate sector.

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