Impact of soil and water conservation practices on crop income in tembaro district, southern Ethiopia

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of soil and water conservation practices on crop income in the Tembaro district, Kembata Tembaro zone, Southern Ethiopia. We selected 236 households using stratified sampling. For this study, we collected primary data through structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, and interviews with key informants. Propensity score matching was used to investigate the impacts of soil conservation initiatives on agricultural income. Age, distance from the farmer’s training center, total land size, extension contact, and training all influence participation in soil and water conservation practices. ATE revealed that crop income differed positively between the control and treatment groups. The total household income increased by 422 ETB as a result of participation in the program. This demonstrates the importance of soil and water conservation for boosting crop income. As a result, governmental and non-governmental development partners should invest in farmer capacity building through extension and training to achieve soil and water conservation goals while simultaneously addressing the livelihood issues of resource-dependent local farmers.