Socio-economic factors affecting community’s perception towards soil and water conservation practices in Gechi Woreda, South Western Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was conducted in Gechi Woreda district of Ethiopia to investigate the community perceptions and the strategies used in soil and water conservation practices, particularly the Soil Bund. To achieve this objective, structured, semi- structured questionnaire and focus group discussion were used for data collection. Logistic regression model was used to analyze determinants of farmers’ perception of soil water conservation practices of the sampled farmers in relation to their socio-economic conditions. The study showed that majority of the respondents positively perceived the soil and water conservation practices (83%), and shortage of labor (31.5%) and lack of accountability (26.3%) were the major determinant factors of the structure. The result also shows farmers’ perception towards the types of soil and water conservation measures practiced in the study area, where the bund integrated with vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides L.) was highly preferred and acknowledged by the farmers. The result of the regression model also showed that age of the household head (AGE) (-0.123*), farmers’ land size (LS) (-2.870*) and livestock number (LSTK) (-0.418*) had significant negative influence on the perception of farmers in Gechi Woreda. These imply that younger households accepted the soil and water conservation practices than the older ones as the younger are energetic in stablishing the soil and water conservation practices. Also, a unit increase in the number of livestock decreases the farmers’ acceptance of soil bund in the Gechi Woreda, where free grazing is commonly used and is a challenge for the suitability of the conservation practices. The Educational status (EDCATN) (3.895*) and family size (FS) (1.361**) of the interviewed household head is significantly and positively determined farmers’ perception of soil bund. Literate households highly understood the costs of soil erosion and benefits of soil bund and invested more than the illiterate households. Since the construction of soil bund is labor intensive the households with large family members accepted and used soil and water conservation practices while the households with small number of family members did not. Therefore, even though there are a determinant factors, using soil and water conservation practices particularly the integration of physical structure with biological measure plays a significant role for socio-economic improvement of community living in the given areas, through enhancing land productivity. Key words: Community perceptions, Land degradation, Soil and Water Conservation