Farmers’ Participation in Terracing as a Response to Land Degradation in Dejen Woreda, North-West Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was carried out with the objective of examining rural households’ participation in terracing activities as a response to the prevailing land degradation in Dejen woreda, north-west Ethiopia. Using simple random sampling technique, 360 households were selected. Qualitative and quantitative data emanated from both primary and secondary sources using questionnaire, interview, focus group discussion and observation. While qualitative data were analyzed using narrative and interpretative methods, quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study found out that most of the rural community is aware of the presence and severity of land degradation in the study area. However, farmers from kola agro-ecology are more aware of it than those from woina-dega areas. In terms of participation in terracing, it is only less than half of the participants who confirmed their engagement in terracing activities. While households from kola areas are relatively better engaged in terracing, the study found no significant difference between males and females in this regard. From the binary logistic regression result, it was evident that households’ family size, access to credit service and participation in non-farm income generating activities have positive effect on participation in terracing. To the contrary, other variables included in the model (sex, age, level of education, agro-ecology, land holding size, number of plots and training on land management practices) have negatively and significantly contributed to participation in terracing.

Keywords: Land degradation, Land Management, Terracing, Participation, Dejen Woreda

DOI: 10.7176/JEES/12-5-04

Publication date:May 31^st 2022