“SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION ADOPTION AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR LIVELIHOOD IN WOMBERMA WOREDA, WEST GOJJAM ZONE, AMHARA NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE”

Abstract

Soil and water conservation in Ethiopia was not only closely related to the improvement and conservation of ecological environment, but also to the sustainable development of its agricultural sectors and its economy at large. The major objective of this study was to investigating SWC practices in the study Woreda. In the study field observation, questionnaire, focus group discussion and interviews were used to collect data. One hundred eighty-one sample households; were selected through multi-stage sampling from the four sample kebeles of Belema, Wegedad, Sebadar, and Coki. The household survey questionnaire data are tabulated summarized and analyzed through quantitative method of data analysis by utilizing the basic statistical package for social science. Data from field observation, focused group discussion and interview were analyzed qualitatively. The result showed that farmers of the study area were not participating in SWC activities by their interest (voluntary) but by the force of community leader, developmental agents, and Woreda administrative order they participated on the practices. The study revealed that the slope of the area, tenure status, age, sex, education status of households, farming experience, land size, farm distance, conservation attitude, perception of farmers on soil erosion, lack of information, level of contact with developmental agents, lack of awareness about Soil and water conservation methods, off-farm activities were the key factors that challenge the adoption/practices of soil and water conservation structure. This study was also revealed that the farmers destruct the SWC structures because of searching for fertile soil, to join their plot of land, for need to avail more land, to destroy hiding places of rodent pests, removing a bund about to collapse etc. They said that when the risers become big, it covers large area that makes the cropland narrower, fertile soil used for construction, and it allows weeds to cover the farmland. Soil/stone bund, terraces, water way, cut off drain and compost were the key soil and water conservation structure practiced by farmers on small farm land to improve the fertility of soil. Therefore, to decrease the challenges of Soil and water conservation in the study Woreda, the developmental agents, and experts of the natural resource of the area advice farmers as it is not important to destroy the terrace bench, soil bunds etc. They advise as it would be better to redevelop the existing terraces and supporting them with other soil fertility and soil and water conservation methods and train the farmers to change the awareness they have on soil and water conservation practices.