Soil Conservation Practices and Farmers’ Adoption Strategies in Costa Rica

Abstract

Soil erosion is generally recognized as a major problem in agricultural development and therefore different soil conservation practices are now being promoted to maintain soil productivity. A wide number of programs in developing countries focus on remedies to this problem, offering a variety of incentives to the farmers. In Costa Rica, a growing number of development projects funded by government, NGOs and international institutions are stimulating the adoption of soil conservation measures at farm and regional levels. Although there is an increase in the number of projects dealing with soil con- servation in Costa Rica, coverage and outreach are still quite low and unequal among farm types. Credit support and technical assistance are widely used, but how important these instruments are for farmers’ adoption decisions is not generally acknowledged. Moreover, other variables may be equally important to determine the prospects of adoption of certain soil conservation practices by different types of farm households.