Search

Over the last four decades, the government of Ethiopia and various a consortium of donors have been promoting different land management (LM) practices in the highlands of Ethiopia to halt land degradation. However, the adoption rate of these practices has been low. This is because investments in LM practices are influenced by various institutional, socio-economic and bio-physical factors. The main objective of this research is to investigate the impact of these different factors on investments in LM in the north-western Ethiopian highlands. It focuses on the drivers of the different stages of adoption, on profitability of LM practices, and on land quality, land fragmentation, tenure arrangements and social capital. We examined the drivers of the different stages of adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices using an ordered probit model. The results indicate that adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) passes through four major phases: non-adoption/dis-adoption, initial adoption, actual adoption and final adoption. Some socio-economic and institutional factors have a different effect on the respective SWC adoption phases. Final adoption depends mostly on profitability, land-related factors, social capital and perception of erosion problems. We also investigated the effectiveness and profitability of three SWC practices (stone bunds, soil bunds and Fanya juu bunds) using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA). The results show that SWC practices are effective in controlling soil erosion, though the profitability of these SWC methods is dependent on the site where they are used. Fanya juu and stone bunds are generally profitable under standard conditions (e.g. medium slope and average soil quality and labour costs). However, the study also shows that different underlying assumptions change the CBA results considerably and consequently also change the conclusions regarding circumstances under which SWC measures are or are not profitable. Besides, we assessed farmers’ perceptions about land quality, land fragmentation and tenure systems and their influence on interrelated LM (Bunds, Compost/Manure and Fertilizer) investments using a multivariate probit (MPV) model. The study shows that investments in LM practices are interdependent. For example, compost/manure and fertiliser substitute each other to a certain extent (often not used together, or used interchangeably by farmers) in the farming system of the study areas. Land quality (e.g. slope and soil fertility status), land fragmentation (parcel size and distance of parcel from homestead) and tenure arrangements influence farmers’ investments in LM practices. In addition, the relationship between the different dimensions of social capital and investments in LM practices was explored. The results show that the different dimensions of social capital affect LM practices differently. In particular, the cooperation and trust dimensions of social capital are associated with the intensity of investment in SWC bunds and fertiliser use. The extent of participation in formal institutions has a positive effect on the use of fertiliser and compost. Furthermore, we evaluated different SWC practices using Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) to assess their ecological, economic and social impacts. The study reveals that MCA is an effective evaluation tool that can take into account non- monetary and less quantifiable effects of SWC measures, which is not possible with Cost Benefit Analysis. The results of the analysis indicate that farmers have a range of criteria to evaluate the performance of SWC measures. The relative importance of each criterion in the selection of SWC alternatives depends to a large extent on slope categories. For enhancing the adoption and impacts of land management, there is a need to increase knowledge about location specific viable LM practices, to promote collective action at watershed level, to pay more attention to farmers’ preferences and to improve the capacity and capability of farmers.

Over the last four decades, the government of Ethiopia and various a consortium of donors have been promoting different land management (LM) practices in the highlands of Ethiopia to halt land degradation. However, the adoption rate of these practices has been low. This is because investments in LM practices are influenced by various institutional, socio-economic and bio-physical factors. The main objective of this research is to investigate the impact of these different factors on investments in LM in the north-western Ethiopian highlands. It focuses on the drivers of the different stages of adoption, on profitability of LM practices, and on land quality, land fragmentation, tenure arrangements and social capital. We examined the drivers of the different stages of adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices using an ordered probit model. The results indicate that adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) passes through four major phases: non-adoption/dis-adoption, initial adoption, actual adoption and final adoption. Some socio-economic and institutional factors have a different effect on the respective SWC adoption phases. Final adoption depends mostly on profitability, land-related factors, social capital and perception of erosion problems. We also investigated the effectiveness and profitability of three SWC practices (stone bunds, soil bunds and Fanya juu bunds) using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA). The results show that SWC practices are effective in controlling soil erosion, though the profitability of these SWC methods is dependent on the site where they are used. Fanya juu and stone bunds are generally profitable under standard conditions (e.g. medium slope and average soil quality and labour costs). However, the study also shows that different underlying assumptions change the CBA results considerably and consequently also change the conclusions regarding circumstances under which SWC measures are or are not profitable. Besides, we assessed farmers’ perceptions about land quality, land fragmentation and tenure systems and their influence on interrelated LM (Bunds, Compost/Manure and Fertilizer) investments using a multivariate probit (MPV) model. The study shows that investments in LM practices are interdependent. For example, compost/manure and fertiliser substitute each other to a certain extent (often not used together, or used interchangeably by farmers) in the farming system of the study areas. Land quality (e.g. slope and soil fertility status), land fragmentation (parcel size and distance of parcel from homestead) and tenure arrangements influence farmers’ investments in LM practices. In addition, the relationship between the different dimensions of social capital and investments in LM practices was explored. The results show that the different dimensions of social capital affect LM practices differently. In particular, the cooperation and trust dimensions of social capital are associated with the intensity of investment in SWC bunds and fertiliser use. The extent of participation in formal institutions has a positive effect on the use of fertiliser and compost. Furthermore, we evaluated different SWC practices using Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) to assess their ecological, economic and social impacts. The study reveals that MCA is an effective evaluation tool that can take into account non- monetary and less quantifiable effects of SWC measures, which is not possible with Cost Benefit Analysis. The results of the analysis indicate that farmers have a range of criteria to evaluate the performance of SWC measures. The relative importance of each criterion in the selection of SWC alternatives depends to a large extent on slope categories. For enhancing the adoption and impacts of land management, there is a need to increase knowledge about location specific viable LM practices, to promote collective action at watershed level, to pay more attention to farmers’ preferences and to improve the capacity and capability of farmers.

Land degradation in the form of soil erosion and nutrient loss is a major constraint to farming activities and agricultural development in the highlands of Ethiopia. Though large-scale conservation projects have been initiated and carried out by the government during the past few decades, the conservation measures introduced have not been sustained by most farmers and land degradation continued to be a problem. The main objective of this research was to examine soil and water conservation practices in the Beressa watershed of the Ethiopian central highlands and identify the constraints and opportunities for a better conservation intervention. The analysis was carried out in view of the history of land use dynamics, farming and livelihood changes, past conservation activities, and policy regime changes.Chapter 2: Long-term dynamics in land resource use and the driving forcesThe dynamics in land resources use between 1957 and 2000 was analysed. It was revealed that the watershed area underwent through substantial land use changes during the 43-year period. The most important changes were destruction of the natural vegetation cover, increased plantations, and expansion of grazing land. Cropland, which comprised of the largest proportion of the watershed area, increased slightly despite a quadrupling in the density of human population. The land use changes were driven by a combination of several factors; demographic pressure, soil degradation and water scarcity, introduction of cattle breeding program, and policy (land, economic) regime changes. It was indicated that farmers tended to change gradually from sole dependence on annual cropping to tree planting and livestock production to cope with the problems of soil degradation and smaller farm size. Functioning rural markets stimulated farmers to participate in tree planting and selling dung-cakes. Apparently, little attention has been paid to investments in SWC and local soil fertility amendments to combat degradation problems. It was concluded that increased erosion and related nutrient losses due to limited conservation investments as well as the removal of potentially available soil nutrients through the sale of manure are real threats to the future of agriculture in the area.Chapter 3: The dung-cakes threaten agricultural developmentThe extent of farmers' involvement in making and selling dung-cakes and the implications on agricultural activities in general and soil fertility management in particular was investigated. Estimates of the amount of dung-cakes households sell annually and the loss of soil nutrients was analysed. Data were obtained by employing a combination of methods that include socio-economic survey, soil sample analysis, market survey, discussions with the local farmers and literature review. It was shown that farmers in the downstream part of the watershed area were more involved in dung-cake selling. Most farmers process about 90% of their cattle manure into the dung-cakes. It was revealed that 40% of the household income was obtained from the sale of the dung-cakes in the market in Debre Birhan town. On average a farm household exports about 43.5 kg N, 9.0 kg P, and 41.4 kg K y -1 through the sale of the dung-cakes. While there is increased demand for chemical fertilizers by the farmers, actual utilization is constrained by high and increasing market prices, lack of credit services and risks associated with rainfall failure. It was concluded that poverty, market access, and soil degradation were the most important factors influencing farmers' participation in selling dung-cakes.Chapter 4: Farmers' knowledge and practicesA survey was conducted to explore farmers' perception of erosion problems and soil fertility changes as well as their conservation knowledge and practices in the watershed area. The results showed 72% of the 147 interviewed farmers recognized erosion problems. But most of the farmers associated severity of erosion problems with the appearance of visual evidence (rills and gullies) only. It was indicated that the majority of the farmers believe erosion could be stopped, and they applied a range of practices for erosion control and fertility improvement; stone terraces/bunds, waterways, drainage ditches, and contour ploughing. It was found that farmers have been changing and adapting the measures to fit local requirements. Apart from erosion control, the farmers also applied various practices for soil fertility maintenance which include crop rotation and animal manure.Though farmers were aware of the multiple benefits of organic matter for fertility improvement, intensity of manure application was largely limited by the use for fuel and sale as well as distant farm locations that impose labour constraints. Farmers tend to accept and use conservation practices that offer them short-term benefits instead of technologies that require long-term investments. It was concluded that conservation interventions should consider farmers' knowledge and practices in the design of conservation technologies.Chapter 5: Determinants of adoption and continued use of stone terracesIn this section, the determinants of sustained adoption of introduced stone terraces that have been widely promoted in past conservation interventions were analysed. A sequential decision-making model using the bivariate probit approach was employed to identify the factors influencing farmers' adoption decision and continued investments. The results revealed that adoption was influenced by farmers' age, farm size, perception of the technology's profitability, slope, livestock number, and soil fertility, while the decision to continue using the practice is influenced by actual technology profitability, slope, soil fertility, family size, farm size and participation in off-farm work. The results indicated the importance of household/farm and plot level factors in farmers' conservation decision. It was concluded that:analysis of the determinants of adoption per se may not provide a full understanding of the range of factors influencing farmers' decision of continued investmentsconservation interventions should not focus only on the biophysical performance of the measures but also on economic benefits that can be obtained to the farmers in the short runa 'blanket approach' to conservation intervention could make the measures inappropriate to local circumstances and eventually unacceptable by the farmersChapter 6: Participatory evaluation of soil and water conservation practicesA farmer participatory evaluation of currently used SWC practices was carried out. The Regime method in multicriteria analysis was employed to identify the best measures on the different categories of cultivated land based on farmers' evaluation criteria and rankings. It was revealed that farmers consider a range of criteria in choosing the conservation measures. Most of these criteria account for the costs and the benefits relating to the use of the conservation practices. The results indicated stone terraces the best measures on the steep slopes, followed by the waterways. On the medium slopes, soil bunds were considered best measures followed by contour ploughing. And on the gentle slopes where drainage problems were more serious than soil loss, drainage ditches were found to be the best measures. The results further underlined the relevance of farmers' knowledge and experience in the development of appropriate conservation technologies.Chapter 7: Creating enabling conditions for soil and water conservationA framework for better conservation intervention in the watershed area and other areas of the highlands with comparable situations was developed. The framework comprised of a set of enabling conditions that should be considered at three levels of decision-making, viz. local/household, village/community, and national/regional levels. Participatory technology development and farmers' participation in local level conservation activities were indicated most important. At the village/community level, the interaction between the farmers and extension workers should be improved. In addition, monitoring and evaluation of conservation activities, together with the farmers, was indicated necessary for checking the progress of interventions. It was also noted that national/regional level decisions should support and encourage local level actions by the farmers. Policies related to demographic pressure, security of land tenure, and efficient market and credit services require serious attention.

Land degradation in the form of soil erosion and nutrient loss is a major constraint to farming activities and agricultural development in the highlands of Ethiopia. Though large-scale conservation projects have been initiated and carried out by the government during the past few decades, the conservation measures introduced have not been sustained by most farmers and land degradation continued to be a problem. The main objective of this research was to examine soil and water conservation practices in the Beressa watershed of the Ethiopian central highlands and identify the constraints and opportunities for a better conservation intervention. The analysis was carried out in view of the history of land use dynamics, farming and livelihood changes, past conservation activities, and policy regime changes.Chapter 2: Long-term dynamics in land resource use and the driving forcesThe dynamics in land resources use between 1957 and 2000 was analysed. It was revealed that the watershed area underwent through substantial land use changes during the 43-year period. The most important changes were destruction of the natural vegetation cover, increased plantations, and expansion of grazing land. Cropland, which comprised of the largest proportion of the watershed area, increased slightly despite a quadrupling in the density of human population. The land use changes were driven by a combination of several factors; demographic pressure, soil degradation and water scarcity, introduction of cattle breeding program, and policy (land, economic) regime changes. It was indicated that farmers tended to change gradually from sole dependence on annual cropping to tree planting and livestock production to cope with the problems of soil degradation and smaller farm size. Functioning rural markets stimulated farmers to participate in tree planting and selling dung-cakes. Apparently, little attention has been paid to investments in SWC and local soil fertility amendments to combat degradation problems. It was concluded that increased erosion and related nutrient losses due to limited conservation investments as well as the removal of potentially available soil nutrients through the sale of manure are real threats to the future of agriculture in the area.Chapter 3: The dung-cakes threaten agricultural developmentThe extent of farmers' involvement in making and selling dung-cakes and the implications on agricultural activities in general and soil fertility management in particular was investigated. Estimates of the amount of dung-cakes households sell annually and the loss of soil nutrients was analysed. Data were obtained by employing a combination of methods that include socio-economic survey, soil sample analysis, market survey, discussions with the local farmers and literature review. It was shown that farmers in the downstream part of the watershed area were more involved in dung-cake selling. Most farmers process about 90% of their cattle manure into the dung-cakes. It was revealed that 40% of the household income was obtained from the sale of the dung-cakes in the market in Debre Birhan town. On average a farm household exports about 43.5 kg N, 9.0 kg P, and 41.4 kg K y -1 through the sale of the dung-cakes. While there is increased demand for chemical fertilizers by the farmers, actual utilization is constrained by high and increasing market prices, lack of credit services and risks associated with rainfall failure. It was concluded that poverty, market access, and soil degradation were the most important factors influencing farmers' participation in selling dung-cakes.Chapter 4: Farmers' knowledge and practicesA survey was conducted to explore farmers' perception of erosion problems and soil fertility changes as well as their conservation knowledge and practices in the watershed area. The results showed 72% of the 147 interviewed farmers recognized erosion problems. But most of the farmers associated severity of erosion problems with the appearance of visual evidence (rills and gullies) only. It was indicated that the majority of the farmers believe erosion could be stopped, and they applied a range of practices for erosion control and fertility improvement; stone terraces/bunds, waterways, drainage ditches, and contour ploughing. It was found that farmers have been changing and adapting the measures to fit local requirements. Apart from erosion control, the farmers also applied various practices for soil fertility maintenance which include crop rotation and animal manure.Though farmers were aware of the multiple benefits of organic matter for fertility improvement, intensity of manure application was largely limited by the use for fuel and sale as well as distant farm locations that impose labour constraints. Farmers tend to accept and use conservation practices that offer them short-term benefits instead of technologies that require long-term investments. It was concluded that conservation interventions should consider farmers' knowledge and practices in the design of conservation technologies.Chapter 5: Determinants of adoption and continued use of stone terracesIn this section, the determinants of sustained adoption of introduced stone terraces that have been widely promoted in past conservation interventions were analysed. A sequential decision-making model using the bivariate probit approach was employed to identify the factors influencing farmers' adoption decision and continued investments. The results revealed that adoption was influenced by farmers' age, farm size, perception of the technology's profitability, slope, livestock number, and soil fertility, while the decision to continue using the practice is influenced by actual technology profitability, slope, soil fertility, family size, farm size and participation in off-farm work. The results indicated the importance of household/farm and plot level factors in farmers' conservation decision. It was concluded that:analysis of the determinants of adoption per se may not provide a full understanding of the range of factors influencing farmers' decision of continued investmentsconservation interventions should not focus only on the biophysical performance of the measures but also on economic benefits that can be obtained to the farmers in the short runa 'blanket approach' to conservation intervention could make the measures inappropriate to local circumstances and eventually unacceptable by the farmersChapter 6: Participatory evaluation of soil and water conservation practicesA farmer participatory evaluation of currently used SWC practices was carried out. The Regime method in multicriteria analysis was employed to identify the best measures on the different categories of cultivated land based on farmers' evaluation criteria and rankings. It was revealed that farmers consider a range of criteria in choosing the conservation measures. Most of these criteria account for the costs and the benefits relating to the use of the conservation practices. The results indicated stone terraces the best measures on the steep slopes, followed by the waterways. On the medium slopes, soil bunds were considered best measures followed by contour ploughing. And on the gentle slopes where drainage problems were more serious than soil loss, drainage ditches were found to be the best measures. The results further underlined the relevance of farmers' knowledge and experience in the development of appropriate conservation technologies.Chapter 7: Creating enabling conditions for soil and water conservationA framework for better conservation intervention in the watershed area and other areas of the highlands with comparable situations was developed. The framework comprised of a set of enabling conditions that should be considered at three levels of decision-making, viz. local/household, village/community, and national/regional levels. Participatory technology development and farmers' participation in local level conservation activities were indicated most important. At the village/community level, the interaction between the farmers and extension workers should be improved. In addition, monitoring and evaluation of conservation activities, together with the farmers, was indicated necessary for checking the progress of interventions. It was also noted that national/regional level decisions should support and encourage local level actions by the farmers. Policies related to demographic pressure, security of land tenure, and efficient market and credit services require serious attention.

Resource degradation is a critical problem in the highlands of Ethiopia. With agricultural productivity lingering behind population growth the gap between the availability and the demand for agricultural land continues to grow. This results in severe land-use conflicts. Thus, high potential and more resilient soils need intensification to sustain human needs. This thesis discusses the opportunities of a short rotation (3 years) eucalyptus based agroforestry system to intensify annual sole cropping on the highland Vertisols. This soil type represents a major production resource in this agroecosystem but is vastly underutilized due to severe waterlogging. A typical Vertisols-Nitosolstoposequence in Ginchi watershed in the central highlands of Ethiopia was selected for this study. The productive and protective functions, alternative resource utilization, the farm economics and the allelopathic potential of anEucalyptus globulusagroforestry system were investigated. The proposed agroforestry system increases land productivity, cuts down soil erosion rates to tolerable limits, reduces runoff, and increase the proportion of available water for biomass production without inducing significant nutrient depletion. Eucalyptus trees capture part of the runoff and soil which otherwise get lost for agricultural crops. This justifies their integration into sole cropping systems thereby compensating for the extra resource required for their growth. Therefore, the farmers' choice to plant Eucalyptus species on seasonally waterlogged highland Vertisols must be acknowledged by policy makersIt is unthinkable to get other species, be it indigenous or exotic that can substitute Eucalyptus in a full range of benefits it provides on highland VertisolsA presumed allelopathic effect of eucalyptus has little ecological relevance and the role of Eucalyptus is far reaching when it is evaluated in its potential contribution to the substitution of dung. Under appropriate management practices dung is a renewable and sustainable soil improvement resource because of its role in the maintenance of soil physical and chemical properties. Eucalypt boundary plantings are also economically viable and wood and wood products from eucalypt boundaries help to reduce pressure on endogenous forests and biodiversity, which has global environmental implications

Resource degradation is a critical problem in highland Ethiopia. Past soil and water conservation efforts did not bring about significant results. Hence, there is an urgent need to tackle the problem through new conservation approaches and technologies. This thesis discusses the need for and possibilities of implementing integrated watershed management (IWM) approach. A typical highland watershed (the Chemoga watershed) was selected for the research, and multifaceted investigations were conducted on the extent, rate and processes of resource degradation and the existing resource-use and management practices. The results reveal that there are interlinked problems of resource degradation: expansion of croplands at the expense of natural vegetative covers, a high rate of soil erosion, adverse changes in some soil properties and depletion of the water resource. A strong physical interdependence was observed between upstream and downstream land uses both at the watershed and subwatershed scales. These facts suggest that IWM approach is the appropriate option for resource conservation in the Chemoga watershed in particular and highland Ethiopia in general. Effective implementation of the IWM approach will require: microwatershed-level planning and pursuing of farmer participatory processes, building upon indigenous knowledge systems and addressing of farmers priorities, ensuring of land tenure security, implementation of targeted and effective incentive systems and providing of client-oriented extension service.

Resource degradation is a critical problem in highland Ethiopia. Past soil and water conservation efforts did not bring about significant results. Hence, there is an urgent need to tackle the problem through new conservation approaches and technologies. This thesis discusses the need for and possibilities of implementing integrated watershed management (IWM) approach. A typical highland watershed (the Chemoga watershed) was selected for the research, and multifaceted investigations were conducted on the extent, rate and processes of resource degradation and the existing resource-use and management practices. The results reveal that there are interlinked problems of resource degradation: expansion of croplands at the expense of natural vegetative covers, a high rate of soil erosion, adverse changes in some soil properties and depletion of the water resource. A strong physical interdependence was observed between upstream and downstream land uses both at the watershed and subwatershed scales. These facts suggest that IWM approach is the appropriate option for resource conservation in the Chemoga watershed in particular and highland Ethiopia in general. Effective implementation of the IWM approach will require: microwatershed-level planning and pursuing of farmer participatory processes, building upon indigenous knowledge systems and addressing of farmers priorities, ensuring of land tenure security, implementation of targeted and effective incentive systems and providing of client-oriented extension service.