Economic Viability of Sustainable Land Management: Are Local Farmers Aware About the Costs and Benefits?

Abstract

The sustainable land management (SLM) is the important parameter to efficiently manage the farm-related practices in order to get the maximum benefits. The economic viability of SLM elucidated the efficient cost/benefit analysis that was the dire need. All around the globe, the practice of sustainable land management is being executed for different purposes such as rehabilitating dry areas, minimizing the effect of degradation and also saving and maintaining the sustainability of natural resources. The purpose of this study is to identify the costs of SLM, to analyze the benefits of SLM and then to compare both of them with each other to recognize its economic viability. The quantitative methods are acquired with the help of a questionnaire; data is collected from the people of Mali. The quantification of the data revealed the considerable experience as well engagement of people in SLM by well knowing its costs and benefits to sake more profit. The rented land farmers were more enthusiastic in applying SLM than landowners. Although the cost of farming practice was increased aggregate of farming outputs increased more proportionally than farming cost. The overall advantages of increased income diversity, economic disparities, long-term returns, short-term returns and farm management as well the decrease in farm workload were found. The aggregate findings will help the farmers to increase their profits and productivity. The empirical evidence will also help the government to put SLM into practice and another researcher to further figure out the problems by keeping this study as a reference.

Keywords: Sustainable land management, economic viability, costs, benefits, analysis

DOI: 10.7176/JESD/10-24-04

Publication date: December 31^st 2019