WOLKITE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCE

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

A SENIOR SEMINAR PAPER ON " DETERMINANTS OF FARMER'S

WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE IN SOIL CONSERVATION".

BY;

TEMESGEN TESFAYE (ID AGR 262/07)

ADVISOR; MEBRATE T

FOR THE FULFILLMENT OF THE COURSE SENIOR SEMINAR IN

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS (AGEC 3142)

JANUARY, 2017.

WOLKITE, ETHIOPIA

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 I. Tables of contents

Contents
A SENIOR SEMINAR PAPER ON " DETERMINANTS OF FARMER'S WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE IN
SOIL CONSERVATION"...........................................................................................................................I
I. Tables of contents.............................................................................................................................II
1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................- 1 -
1.1 Background of review.................................................................................................................- 1 -
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF REVIEW.................................................................................................. - 3 -
2. LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................................................................- 4 -
2.1 THEORETICAL REVIEW......................................................................................................- 4 -
2.1.1 Conservation and Rehabilitation...................................................................................- 5 -
2.1.2 On-site and Off-site Costs of Soil Degradation..............................................................- 5 -
2.2 EMPERICAL LITERATURE REVIEW.....................................................................................- 6 -
4. REFERENCES...............................................................................................................................- 10 -

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Acknowledgment

First and foremost let me praise and honor the Almighty of god for the opportunity and capacity
given to me realize My aspiration.

Secondly my advisor Mebrate T. For her advice, guidance, support, encouragement and
assistance in the preparation of this seminar.

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 1. INTRODUCTION.

1.1 Background of review

Soil degradation is the big issue and problem internationally. Even in worldwide, it became the
main factors for the reduction in agricultural production. Taking into consideration this issue,
environmental specialists are taking many measures to reduce its effects. The same things take
place in our continent, Africa. The economic development of developing countries depends on
the performance of the agricultural sector, and the contribution of this sector depends on how the
natural resources are managed. Unfortunately, in the majority of developing nations, the
quality and quantity of natural resources are decreasing resulting in more severe droughts
and floods (Fikru, 2009).

Land degradation and continuous fall in agricultural productivity in countries of SSA have raised
serious concerns in the international level (World Bank, 2005). In many agriculture based
developing countries environmental degradation takes mainly the form of soil nutrient depletion
and loss of food production potential.

High soil degradation is the main factor for most of African countries to be called poor countries
still. Ethiopia is one of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa faced with pervasive poverty, high
rate of population growth, insufficient food production and degradation of natural resource base.

The major cause of land degradation in Ethiopia is erosion (Alemneh, 2008). Intensification of
cropping on sloping lands without suitable amendments to replenish lost nutrients has led to
widespread degradation of land. Available estimates on the economic impact of soil erosion
indicate an annual onsite average productivity loss of 3.2% from the 2005 yield level (FAO,
2007).

Land degradation is a major cause of poverty in rural area of developing countries. In many
areas, farming population has experienced a decline in real income due to demographic,
economic, social and environmental changes. Land degradation is result of several factors of

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both physical and socio-economic nature. During the past decade, Ethiopia has faced serious
ecological imbalance mainly due to a large-scale deforestation, uncontrolled grazing practices,
soil erosion caused by improper farming practices and destructive forests exploitation and
wildfire. The consequence of which have been a declining agricultural production, water
depletion, disturbed hydrological behavior in the river basins, and food insecurity (Daniel, 2007).

Anemut (2006), argues that soil are important natural resources as they have useful effects on
ecological balances and also for they are the means for the livelihood of many local people
worldwide; especially in the developing countries. However, due to lack of efficient
property right, increased population growth, lower productivity of agriculture and fast
expansion of farmlands in most developing countries many environmentally important areas
are highly degraded. Soil conservation is one of the adaptation strategies which reduce land
degradation and increase the production and productivity of the agricultural sector, however,
achieving sustainable path ways out of the problems of land degradation and poverty requires
active participation of farmers in conservation practices and understand how farmers value the
soil conservation of activities especially soil conservation practices in communal areas.

Environmental degradation in Ethiopia is synonymous with land degradation (Alemneh, 2008).

In response to extensive degradation of the soil resource base, new land conservation
technologies have been introduced in some degraded and food deficit areas of the country,

Soil erosion is one of the most serious environmental problems in the high lands of Ethiopia. The
prevalence of rational agricultural land use and the absence of appropriate resource management
often result in the degradation of natural soil fertility .this has important implications for soil
productivity ,house hold food security and poverty in those areas of the country(teklewold and
kohlin,2011)

One widely misunderstood subject in Ethiopia is the peasants’ perception of their environment.
It is misunderstood partly because outsiders, both experts and policy makers, who write about
peasants and formulate polices, often have limited understanding about the peasants’
environment (Alemneh, 2008).

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Conservation practices were mainly undertaken in a campaign often without the involvement of
the land user (Bekele and Holden, 2008). This shows that projects failed to consider local
peoples’ economic, demographic, institutional and technical factors from the very inception of
conservation projects. Thus, there is a need to take action on technology development and design
of polices and strategies that promote resource conserving land use with active participation of
local people.

According to Lynne(2008), economic incentives will increase efforts, but responsiveness will
differ with the strength of conservation related attitudes. Therefore, a review on farmers’
perception of soil degradation problems and determinants of their willingness to participate in
soil conservation practices by contributing labor is useful for development of projects that
address local peoples(land users’) economic, demographic, institutional, and technical factors. .

The issue of soil conservation not only necessary but also a vital concern if the country wants to
achieve sustainable developments of its agricultural sector and its economy at large. .

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF REVIEW

1.3.1 General Objectives

 To review determinants of farmers’ willingness to participate in soil Conservation

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

 To review uses of participating in soil conservation practices

 To review effects of soil degradation against production

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 1.4 Significance of review

Identification of factors that influence farmers’ willingness to participate in long-term

conservation practices can help policy makers, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs),
international organizations, etc. to take appropriate action in formulating projects/plans that curb
the problem of land degradation with active participation of farmers.

This review is aimed to provide first-hand information on farmers’ perception of soil degradation
problem, their willingness to participate in conservation practices, the factors affecting their
participation and the relative importance of the factors on farmers’ willingness to participate in
soil conservation practices.

soil erosion is one of most important environmental problems in Ethiopia .it is a primary source
of the decline in land productivity in particular and welfare of society in general.

In order to reverse this and minimize its impact on the livelihoods of the peoples ,the government
of Ethiopia has put a lot efforts and take different measures .among these measures , the
mobilization of local people to participate in the conservation practices is one of encouraging
activities being undertaken in most parts of the country.Therefore this kind of review is
necessary and helps the government or other development agents to design intervention
mechanisms and mobilize the local people for more conservation activities.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 THEORETICAL REVIEW

Soil is a natural resource, which generates every year through the natural process. Its erosion is
interchangeably used with land degradation. Land degradation can be defined as a process that
lowers the current and future capacity of the land to support human life (Pagiola, 2004).

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Soil erosion accounts for the major forms of land degradation in developing countries, and at the
same time, it is difficult to isolate and measure its impact on productivity even when the means
and resources are available. The amount of soil erosion, which occurs under a given condition,
is influenced not only by the nature of the soil itself but also by the treatment or management it
receives. The application of sustainable soil conservation management is largely determined by
economic status, public awareness, and educational level of the stakeholders and the main
prerequisite for attaining sustainable agricultural development is the formulation of appropriate
resource management policies which are supported by the farming community to which they are
willing and able to respond (Ayalneh, 2006).

The term land refers not just to soil, but to all natural resources, which contribute to agricultural
production. The effects of water and wind erosion are largely irreversible. Although plant
nutrients and soil organic matter can be restored, replacing loss of soil is almost impossible. On
the other hand, land degradation is reversible: soils with reduced organic matter can be restored
by addition of plant residues and improved range management for degraded pasture (FAO,
2004).

2.1.1 Conservation and Rehabilitation

A community confronts two basic situations with respect to soil or natural resources. Either soil
or natural resources are not degraded, because they are not being overexploited, or else the
landscape and soil are degraded (i.e. partially or totally destroyed) and this destruction is
progressive. Each situation requires a different type of action (FAO, 2007). Soil conservation is
a means of preserving natural resources for potential agricultural production, and is essential for
the survival of certain groups of people given demographic and social trends. Rehabilitation on
the other hand, is defined as restoring the productive potential of degraded natural resources to
their original level or one approaching it: in other words, corrective action.

2.1.2 On-site and Off-site Costs of Soil Degradation

The negative consequences of soil degradation are widely recognized, but until recently, few
attempts had been made to estimate the magnitude of the costs involved. Economic losses arising
from soil degradation may be divided into on-site and off-site costs. On-site costs refer to the
direct effects of soil degradation on the quality of the land resource itself, often expressed in

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terms of reduced agricultural productivity. Off-site costs refer to the indirect effects of soil
degradation, and usually take the form of externalities.

2.2 EMPERICAL LITERATURE REVIEW

The determinants of soil conservation decision behavior of farmers in Ethiopia have been
limited. Generally the past approach to soil conservation emphasized technical solutions to soil
erosion problems to the neglect of socioeconomic constraints (Shiferaw and Holden, 2008).

For decades it was believed that technological innovations combined with scientific methods
were the answers to soil erosion problems. This led to the realization that soil conservation is
not only a technical problem but also a socio economic problem, which directed attention to
socioeconomic and behavioral factors influencing soil conservation decision making
(Wegayehu, 2009).

The proximate causes of land degradation are the symptoms of inappropriate land management
practices as conditioned by the underlying factors. Hence, efforts for soil conservation need to
address the underlying causes primarily, as focusing on the proximate causes would mean
addressing the symptoms of the problem rather than the real causes (Gebremedhin, 2004).

According to Baidu-Forson (2009), factors that motivate level and intensity of use of specific
soil management technologies include: higher percentage of degraded farm land, extension
education, lower risk aversion and the availability of short term benefit. This result shows that
technologies should be targeted to locations that have large percentages of degraded farm land
and there is a need to provide extension education that demonstrates risk reduction capacities of
conservation techniques.

Sureshwaran (2009) reported that factors such as orientation to farming, education, and cost
sharing or government assistance affected significantly the decision behavior of farmers on soil
conservation practices. Moreover, they showed that farm size, tenure arrangement, and reduction
in land intensity, measured by land to man ratio, affected farmers’ decision on soil conservation
practices.

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Most empirical review on land degradation analyze the impact of physical factors like
topography, climate and soil, farming practices and population pressure on soil erosion (Bekele
and Holden, 2008).

According to Lynne (2008), factors such as income and nature of terrain were found to affect
conservation behavior. Farmer’s attitude influences the amount of effort exerted in conservation.
The author stresses that investment on specific technologies will be enhanced by dissemination
of knowledge and demonstration of the level of gains from the technologies and the potential risk
reduction characteristic.

A review made by Tegegne (2004) on willingness to pay for environmental protection in sekota
District (Northern Ethiopia), suggested that efforts to make people participate and become
involved in environmental protection should focus on their labor instead of their financial.

3. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1 CONCLUSION

Agricultural development in Ethiopia is hampered by many factors among which land

degradation is the major one, which is threatening the overall sustainability of agricultural
production of the country. The major cause of land degradation in Ethiopia is erosion. Land
degradation can be defined as a process that lowers the current and future capacity of the land to
support human life. Land degradation is result of several factors of both physical and socio-

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economic nature. The consequence of which have been a declining agricultural production, water
depletion, disturbed hydrological behavior in the river basins, and food insecurity. Economic
losses arising from soil degradation may be divided into on-site and off-site costs. On-site costs
refer to the direct effects of soil degradation on the quality of the land resource itself, often
expressed in terms of reduced agricultural productivity. Off-site costs refer to the indirect effects
of soil degradation, and usually take the form of externalities. The severity of soil erosion is
similarly the result of improper soil management, high rainfall and population density and low
vegetation cover, low soil conservation practices and exposure of its topography especially to
water fluid, inherent erodible nature of the soils and expansion of farmland by clearing forest.

It was believed that technological innovations combined with scientific methods were the
answers to soil erosion problems. In response to the extensive degradation of land, Ethiopia has
taken some efforts to mitigate the problem of soil erosion and enhance or at least to maintain the
existing production potential of the land at different times. Improved soil conservation
technologies were introduced and promoted in some degraded area the ministry of agriculture.

Farmers used mostly traditional soil conservation measures, like the terrace, counter bund...etc.
awareness about technology, extension services given, consumer-worker ratio and age
significantly affected the probability and intensity of participating in soil conservation measures.

The principal objective of this review was to identify and analyze the determinants of farmers’
willingness to participate in soil conservation practices. The review was also intended to
determine the relative importance of participating in soil conservation practice.

Technological awareness of soil erosion problem was positively and significantly related to the
farmers’ willingness to participate in soil conservation practices. This implies that farmers’
recognition of soil erosion hazard is very important for their decision to participate in soil
conservation activities.

The assistance of extension agent was affect positively and significantly the farmers’ willingness
to participate in soil conservation practices.

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3.2 RECOMMENDATION

Farmers who participated in soil conservation undertaking in the past were well aware of the
advantages of the practice better than those who did not participate. From this, one can deduce
that the longer the farmer is involved in soil conservation scheme, the better his/her awareness of
soil conservation advantages and its shortcomings. Based on above review. The following points

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need to be considered as possible policy implications in order to enhance farmer’s participation
in the planning and implementation of soil conservation activities and save natural resources
from depletion.

 Policy makers and government should encourage and provide technical advice to farmers
who are practicing soil conservation at their own initiative and using their indigenous
knowledge. It is also believed that training of farmers could enhance adoption of soil
conservation technologies.
 Researchers should also develop appropriate soil conservation technologies for each
particular situation, incorporating farmers’ indigenous knowledge. More specifically, as
farmers are well adapted to the local ecology and the farming systems, incorporating their
indigenous practices would increase acceptability and sustainability of soil conservation
measures.
 Local people should be allowed to participate in any activity that concerns them.
Therefore, there should be an effort, from policy makers, aimed at enhancing the
awareness of these farmers.
 In some kebele farms of elders are being exposed to erosion. This is mainly due to elders
cannot participate and so government should observe problems of such non participant
household heads and conserve the resources.
 Government should train farmers about family planning.

4. REFERENCES

 Alemneh Dejene, 2008. Environment, Famine, and Politics in Ethiopia.

 Anemut, B. (2006).Determinants of Farmers‟ Willingness to Pay for the Conservation of

National parks.

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 Ayalneh, 2006."The application of sustainable soil conservation management"

 Baidu-Forson , 2009."Factors that motivate level and intensity of use of specific soil
management techniques"

 Bekele, Shiferaw and Holden, S.T. 2008. “Resource Degradation and Adoption of Land
Conservation Technologies in the Ethiopian Highlands”.

 Daniel, D., 2007. Soil and water conservation Manual/Guideline for Ethiopia. Soil and
Water conservation Team, Natural Resources Management and Regulatory Department,
Ministry of Agriculture, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

 FAO. 2007. Incentives for Community Involvement in Conservation Programs.FAO

(2004). Land Degradation in South East Asia: Its Severity, Causes and Effects up on the
People.

 Fikru, A. (2009). Assessment of Adoption Behaviour of Soil and Water Conservation

Practices in the Koga Watershed, Highlands of Ethiopia.

 Gebre-Medhin, 2004."causes of land degradation and efforts for soil conservation"

 Lynne, 2008. “Attitudes and Farmers Conservation Behaviour”. American Journal of

Agricultural Economics.

 Pagio ,2004."Definition of land degradation and its relation with soil conservation."

 Sureshwaran, S. R. Londhe and P. Franzier, 2009. “A Logit Model for Evaluating Farmer
Participation in Soil Conservation Programs”: Slopping Agricultural Land Technology on
Upland Farms in the Philippines. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture.

 Tegegne Gebere Egziabher, 2004. “Willingness to Pay for Environmental Protection”:

An Application of Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) in Sekota District, Northern
Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Agricultural Economics.

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 Teklewold and Kohlin ( 2011)."Implications for soil productivity, household food
security and poverty."

 Wegayehu, B. (2009). Economics of Soil and Water Conservation. Theory and Empirical
Application to Subsistence Farming in the Eastern Ethiopian Highlands: A doctoral
Thesis. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

 World Bank, 2005. Development and the environment.

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