Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Convenient Solution for Convenient Truth: Adoption of Soil and Water Conservation Measures for Climate Change and Variability in Kuyu District, Ethiopia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Climate Change Adaptation in Africa

Part of the book series: Climate Change Management ((CCM))

Abstract

Soil erosion resulting from erratic and erosive rainfall, steep terrain, deforestation, inappropriate land use, land fragmentation, overgrazing and farmers’ management practices is one of the major challenges in agricultural production in many parts of Ethiopia. Climate change aggravates this problem. A number of soil and water conservation methods were promoted to combat soil erosion but adoption of these practices remains below expectations. Thus, this paper explored major soil and water conservation measures smallholder farmers used as adaptation strategies in response to climate change. A special emphasis was given to investigate determinants of farmers’ adoption of stone bund to combat soil erosion caused by climate change and variability. The common climate adaptation strategies to mitigate the effect of flooding among the farmers in Kuyu district were stone bud (49%), soil bund (24%), check dam (17%), and hillside terracing (10%). The result revealed that farm size, family size, education, perception of soil erosion problem, slope of the plot, and training on soil and water conservation are found to be positively and significantly influenced farmers’ decision to invest in stone bund. Moreover, it also came to light that age of the household head, number of livestock, and distance of the plot had negative and significant effect on adoption of introduced stone bunds. This result suggests that there is the need for increased knowledge on soil and water conservation measures and educational orientation for technical know-how. The study further suggests strengthening agricultural extension services to make farmers more informed and knowledgeable about climate change impact on soil erosion and the adaptation strategies to use. Moreover, this study suggests that conservation efforts should target steep slopes where farmers think soil erosion problem is high.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Amsalu, A. (2006). Caring for the land best practices in soil and water conservation in Beressa Watershed, Highland of Ethiopia. Tropical Resource Management Paper No. 76: Wageningen University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amsalu, A., & de Graaff, J. (2006). Farmers’ views of soil erosion problems and their conservation knowledge at Beressa watershed, central highlands of Ethiopia. Agriculture and Human Values, 23(1), 99–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amsalu, A., & de Graaff, J. (2007). Determinants of adoption and continued use of stone terraces for soil and water conservation in an Ethiopian highland watershed. Ecological economics, 61, 294–302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anley, Y., Bogale, A., & Haile-Gabriel, A. (2007). Adoption decision and use intensity of soil and water conservation measures by smallholder subsistence farmers in Dedo district, Western Ethiopia. Land Degradation and Development, 18, 289–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asrat, P., Kassa, B., & Hamito, D. (2004). Determinants of farmers’ willing to pay for soil conservation practices in the southern highlands of Ethiopia: Land degradation and development, 15, 423–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Awdenegest, M., & Holden, N. M. (2007). Farmers’ perceptions of soil erosion and soil fertility loss in Southern Ethiopia. Land Degradation & Development, 18(5), 543–554

    Google Scholar 

  • Bekele, S., & Holden, S. T. (1998). Resource degradation and adoption of land conservation technologies in the Ethiopian Highlands: A case study in Andit Tid, North Shewa. Agricultural Economics, 18, 233–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bekele, W. (2003). Economics of soil and water conservation: Theory and empirical application to subsistence farming in the eastern Ethiopian highlands. PhD. Dissertation, Uppsala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bekele, W., & Drake, L. (2003). Soil and water conservation decision behavior of subsistence farmer s in the Eastern Highlands of Ethiopia: a case study of the Hunde-Lafto area. Ecological Economics, 46(3), 437–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, L. (2009). Land degradation in Ethiopia: Its extent and impact. Global Mechanism and World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beshah, T. (2003). Understanding farmers: Explaining soil and water conservation in Konso, Wolaita and Wello, Ethiopia. Tropical Resource Management Papers, vol. 41. The Netherland, Wageningen University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Central Statistical Authority (CSA). (2008). Statistical Abstract, CSA, Addis Ababa.

    Google Scholar 

  • CSA (Central statistics Agency). (2012). “[Ethiopia] Agricultural sample survey 2011/2012 (2004 E.C.). (September–December, 2011), Volume IV, report on land utilization (Private Peasant Holdings, Meher Season),” Statistical Bulletin 532. Addis Ababa: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Central Statistical Agency.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damena, D. (2012). Determinants of Farmers’ Land Management Practices: The Case of Tole District, South West Shewa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, 14(1), 76–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dejene, A. (2003). Integrated national resources management to enhance food security: The case of community based approaches in Ethiopia. Rome: FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO. (1986). Ethiopian highlands reclamation study, Ethiopia. Final Report. Rome: FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gebremedhin, B., & Swinton, S. M. (2003). Investment in soil conservation in northern Ethiopia: the role of land tenure security and public programs. Agricultural Economics, 29, 69–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Graaff, J., Amsalu, A., Bodna, F., Kessler, A., Posthumus, H., & Tenge, A. (2008). Factors influencing adoption and continued use of long-term soil and water conservation measures in five developing countries. Applied Geography, 28, 271–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greene, W. H., et al. (1989). Towards a conceptual framework for mixed methods evaluation design. Educational Evaluation and policy Analysis, 11(30), 255–274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurni, H. (1993). Land degradation, famine and land resources scenario in Ethiopia. In D. Pimentel (ed.), World soil erosion and conservation (pp. 27–62). Cambridge: Cambridge university press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511735394.004

  • IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). (2007). Summary for Policymakers. In Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science smallholder maize in central Malawi. Experimental Agriculture, 50(2), 229–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jorge, A., Peter, M., Mark, A., Tom, G., Don, R., Rattan, L., et al. (2011). Conservation practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 66(4), 118–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kassie, M., Pender, J., Yesuf, M., Kohlin, G., Bluffstone, R., & Mulugeta, E. (2008). Estimating returns to soil conservation adoption in the northern Ethiopian highlands. Agricultural Economics, 38, 213–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kassa, Y., Beyene F., Haji, J., & Legesse, B. (2013). Impact of integrated soil and water conservation program on crop production and income in West Harerghe Zone, Ethiopia. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 1(4), 111–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kato, E., Ringler, C., Yesuf, M., & Bryan, E. (2011). Soil and water conservation technologies: a buffer against production risk in the face of climate change? Insights from the Nile basin in Ethiopia. Agricultural Economics, 42, 593–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolka, K., & Negash, M. (2014). Farmers’ adoption of soil and water conservation technology: a case study of the Bokole and Toni sub-watersheds, southern Ethiopia. Journal of Science & Development, 2(1), 35–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keil, A. (2001). Adoption of leguminous tree fallows in Zambia. Discussion Paper No. 33, Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tafa, Kidane, Beshah, Tesfaye, & Amsalu, Aklilu. (2012). Determinants of physical soil and water conservation practices in Ethiopia’s semi-arid tropics: The case of Bati District. Social and Basic Science Review Research, 2(12), 525–541.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lundgren, L. (1993). Twenty years of soil and water conservation in eastern Africa. SIDA, Nairobi: RSCU.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathison, S. (1988). Why Triangulate? Educational Researcher, 17(2), 13–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merrey, D. J., & Gebreselassie, T. (2011). Promoting improved rainwater and land management in the Blue Nile (Abay) basin of Ethiopia. NBDC Technical Report 1. Nairobi, Kenya, ILRI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mesfin, W.-M. (1984). Rural vulnerability to famine in Ethiopia 1958–1977. Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osman, M., & Sauerborn, P. (2001). Soil and water conservation in Ethiopia: Experiences and lessons. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 1(2), 117–123.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pender, J., Gebremedhin, B., Benin, S., & Ehui, S. (2001). Strategies for sustainable agricultural development in the Ethiopian Highlands. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 83(5), 1231–1240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Regasa, S. (2005). Determinants of choice of land management practice: The Case of Ankober District. Ethiopian Journal of Agricultural Science, 18, 53–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiferaw, B., & Holden, S. (1998). Resource degradation and adoption of land conservation techno logies in the Ethiopian highlands: A case study in Andit Tid, North Shewa. Agricultural Economics, 18, 233–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sidibe, A. (2004). Farm-level adoption of soil and water conservation techniques in Northern Burkina Faso. Agricultural Water Management, 71(3), 211–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swanson, S. (1992). Mixed-method triangulation: Theory and practice compared. Paper presented at annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teshome, A., Rolker, D., & Jde, Graaff. (2012). Financial viability of soil and water conservation technologies in northwestern Ethiopian highlands. Applied Geography, 37, 139–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tizale, C. Y. (2007). The dynamics of soil degradation and incentives for optimal management in Central Highlands of Ethiopia. PhD. Dissertation, South Africa: University of Pretoria.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yesuf, M., et al. (2008). The impact of climate change and adaptation on food production in low-income countries: evidence from the Nile Basin, Ethiopia. International Food Policy Research Institute.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We wish to express our profound gratitude to Addis Ababa University; the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Germany; African Climate change Fellowship Program; and International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for their financial support in accomplishing this paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Abayineh Amare & Belay Simane

Authors
  1. Abayineh Amare
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Belay Simane
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Abayineh Amare .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. FTZ-NK, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Environmental and Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Simane Belay

  3. School of Water Resources, South Eastern Kenya University, Nairobi, Kenya

    Jokasha Kalangu

  4. Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

    Wuta Menas

  5. Department Ecosystems and Conservation, College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania

    Pantaleo Munishi

  6. Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe

    Kumbirai Musiyiwa

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Amare, A., Simane, B. (2017). Convenient Solution for Convenient Truth: Adoption of Soil and Water Conservation Measures for Climate Change and Variability in Kuyu District, Ethiopia. In: Leal Filho, W., Belay, S., Kalangu, J., Menas, W., Munishi, P., Musiyiwa, K. (eds) Climate Change Adaptation in Africa. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49520-0_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation