Farmers’ adoption of soil and water conservation practices: The case of Lege-Lafto Watershed, Dessie Zuria District, South Wollo, Ethiopia

Abstract

In Ethiopia, soil degradation is one of the major causes of low and declining agricultural productivity. As a result of this challenge, the country has been battling to adopt conservation practices. The main objective of this study was to assess farmers’ adoption decisions of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices. For the survey, 304 farmers were selected from farming communities in Lege-Lafto Watershed, South Wollo,Ethiopia. Information were gathered using a household survey, and through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observation. A binary logistic regression model and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that about 64% of the farmers adopted soil and water conservation practices in the study area. The findings depicted that soil bund, stone bund, stone-faced soil bund, loose stone and brush-wood check dams, hillside terrace, and bund stabilized with vegetation are practiced in the watershed. The analysis result revealed adoption of soil and water conservation practices is significantly and positively influenced by the perception of farmers on erosion problems and SWC practices, family labour, educational level, and membership in local institutions. However, distance from residence to the nearest market and farmland, off-farm activities, and the ratio of cultivable land to family size influenced the adoption of SWC practices negatively. Therefore, improving farmers’ educational status, and strengthening local institutions are vital for sustainable land management practices in the country.

Assessment of the Effectiveness of Biophysical Soil and Water Conservation Structures: A Case Study of Offa Woreda, Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

“…e variation in the perception of farmers observed in the study area is closely related to the results of other researchers [23,38]. According to this, the slope influences the decisions of farmers such that farmers on steep slopes always practice nature conservation due to the severity of soil erosion.…”

A global systematic literature review on sustainable soil management practices (1994–2022)

“…Among Africa, the greatest proportion of research was observed in Ethiopia. Soil degradation is one of the major reasons for low agricultural productivity of the country (Yifru & Miheretu, 2022) which could further derail the achievement of national food security and economic development (Löbmann et al, 2022).…”

“…This trend also rapidly moved forward after the official inauguration of SDGs by world leaders in 2015 (UN, 2022b). Enhancing soil health fertility, improving crop productivity and profitability, soil carbon incentive, favourable government policy and long‐term sustainability are some of the pull factors whereas degraded soil quality, soil erosion, nutrient depletion, reduced crop yields and environmental concerns are some of the push factors (Anik et al, 2022; Oduniyi et al, 2023; Teshager Abeje et al, 2019; Yang & Sang, 2020; Yifru & Miheretu, 2022). Anticipation of economic and environmental risks from climate change can accelerate farmers' willingness to uptake beneficial adaptation practices like SSMP (Schneider et al, 2012).…”

“…Previous studies on determinants of adoption probability considered adoption probability as a binary decision (Anik et al, 2022; Yifru & Miheretu, 2022). A few studies from the recent years discussed the adoption level or adoption intensity as the number of adopted practices.…”

“…low agricultural productivity of the country (Yifru & Miheretu, 2022) which could further derail the achievement of national food security and economic development (Löbmann et al, 2022).…”