Farmers’ perception on the consequences of land degradation
The results indicated that most of the respondents were aware on the
consequence of land degradation by indicating the loss of agricultural
productivity results from land degradation responded by 90.6% of the
population, followed by the difficulty of farming (86.2%) and loss in
livestock productivity (75.6%) (Table 8). But most of the respondents
(78.1%, 75.6%, 71.8%, %, 61.2%) were not aware of drought,
desertification, migration, and landlessness were the consequences of
land degradation respectively.
Similarly, from the group discussion, farmers responded that land
degradation is affecting their living and their socio-economic
conditions. The results revealed that most of the farmers living
conditions are deteriorating from time to time due to decreasing crop
production, resulting from land degradation. According to the
respondents, previously crops produced mainly wheat, sorghum, beans, and
pea were the source of income in addition to home consumption. But at
present, it is challenging to be a source of income and it is not even
sufficient to feed their family. Due to the decline in crop yield, and
the resulting income reduction and the progressive price increment of
fertilizer and the farmer’ inability to afford it, farmers are becoming
food insecure. The finding is in line with Moges and Holden (2006) who
reported land degradation through soil erosion is a major cause of
poverty in rural areas of Ethiopia. In many areas, farming populations
have experienced a decline in farm income. The immediate consequence of
land degradation is reduced crop yield followed by economic decline and
social stress (Moges and Holden, 2006).
Conclusion
The dominantly practiced SWC measures in the area include cutoff drains,
waterways, soil bunds, fallowing, and application of manure. The
majority of farmers in the study area had no enough perception of the
unique benefit of different types of conservation structures. Thus, the
practice of different types of SWC method is limited. The practice of
SWC measures was affected by age, sex, education level, household size,
land size, off-farm activities, distance from homestead, contact with
DAs, and training on SWC measures. Crop production is deteriorating from
time to time due to land degradation and poor SWC practices. To solve
the problem there is a need to aware of the society about the causes and
consequences of land degradation and then implement SWC practices.