Abstract
BackgroundCrop productivity in the highlands of Ethiopia is critically challenged by land degradation and climate change and variability. Massive plantations and several kilometers of soil and water conservation technologies have been practiced in response to those challenges. Yet land degradation and the level of sustainability of the technologies have continued to be critical challenges. Thus, the objective of this research was to examine the sustainability, challenges and future prospect of climate smart community-based soil and water conservation practices. Data were collected using household survey, key informant interview and focus group discussion. Analytic hierarchy process for multi-criteria decision making was used to analyze the sustainability of community-based climate smart practices.ResultsThe finding revealed that the overall score of the sustainability dimensions was about 67.5%, which lies in the zone of “sustained but at risk.” The institutional arrangement has limitations in that farmers were involved in implementation phase while there is little room in planning, monitoring and evaluation phases. The major challenges of the soil and water conservation practices were: destruction of the communal forests and structures for personal benefits, overlapping work calendar with irrigation and off-farm works and structures wasted farmland.ConclusionsThe success of the structures from the perspective of officials is expressed in terms of the numbers of kilometers constructed and community participation. However, it overlooks how it reduces the problem of land degradation and challenge of climate change and variability. Thus, in order to sustain the structures, direct participation of farmers at all stages of the work is encouraged. The sustainability of structures can also be partly ensured if it generates benefit to the local community.
Highlights
Crop productivity in the highlands of Ethiopia is critically challenged by land degradation and climate change and variability
Ethiopia is one of the agrarian Sub-Saharan African countries dominated by subsistence small-scale farmers with less than 2 hectares of land [1]
Agricultural productivity in the smallholder sector is constrained by climate change and variability, land degradation, traditional farming techniques and low level of investment in productivity enhancing technologies, inter alia [4,5,6]
Summary
Crop productivity in the highlands of Ethiopia is critically challenged by land degradation and climate change and variability. The objective of this research was to examine the sustainability, challenges and future prospect of climate smart community-based soil and water conservation practices. GTP II is midway, and one of its strategic objectives is to ensure food security and broaden export base of the country which is expected to bring a long-term structural transformation to industry. This implies the success is determined by the productivity of smallholder farmers that account 95 percent of the national agricultural output [3]. Large areas of the country are already experiencing food insecurity [7]
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