Factors influencing adoption of soil and water conservation practices in the northwest Ethiopian highlands

Abstract

Soil erosion has long been a problem in the Ethiopian highlands in general and Dembecha district in particular. The objective of this study was to identify factors influencing adoption of soil and water conservation practices. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from primary and secondary sources. The primary data were collected from respondent samples and key informants through interview and personal observation. The secondary data were collected from sources such as books, journals, statistical reports and official documents. A multistage sampling technique was applied to select sample households. Sample sizes of 150 households were selected using simple random sampling. Both descriptive statistics and a multivariate probit econometric model were employed to analyze the data. The model results revealed that the likelihood of decisions to adopt soil bund, stone bund, check dam and strip cropping were 74, 56, 29 and 56% respectively. The joint probability of adopting the selected soil and water conservation practices was 14.2%. The model results also confirmed that age, sex, education level, household size, livestock holding, land size, access to credit, access to extension service and training were significant factors that affected the adoption of soil and water conservation practices in the study area. Based on our findings, the study suggests that the government and stakeholders should focus on strengthening the provision of formal and non-formal training and facilitate an effective extension service.