June 25, 2026 Thesis Open Access

ESHETU LOGITA

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  <identifier identifierType="DOI">10.20372/nadre:25221</identifier>
  <creators>
    <creator>
      <creatorName>ESHETU LOGITA</creatorName>
      <affiliation>Dilla University</affiliation>
    </creator>
  </creators>
  <titles>
    <title>FARMERS' PERCEPTIONS ON SOIL EROSION AND ADOPTION OF PHYSICAL SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION PRACTICE IN THE CASE OF ARBEGONA WOREDA ETHIOPIA</title>
  </titles>
  <publisher>Zenodo</publisher>
  <publicationYear>2026</publicationYear>
  <subjects>
    <subject>Adoption, Farmers' perception, Soil conservation, Soil erosion, Physical conservation measures, Sustainability,</subject>
  </subjects>
  <contributors>
    <contributor contributorType="Supervisor">
      <contributorName>HABTAMU TEMESGEN (PhD)</contributorName>
      <affiliation>Dilla University</affiliation>
    </contributor>
  </contributors>
  <dates>
    <date dateType="Issued">2026-06-25</date>
  </dates>
  <language>en</language>
  <resourceType resourceTypeGeneral="Text">Thesis</resourceType>
  <alternateIdentifiers>
    <alternateIdentifier alternateIdentifierType="url">https://nadre.ethernet.edu.et/record/25221</alternateIdentifier>
  </alternateIdentifiers>
  <relatedIdentifiers>
    <relatedIdentifier relatedIdentifierType="DOI" relationType="IsVersionOf">10.20372/nadre:25220</relatedIdentifier>
    <relatedIdentifier relatedIdentifierType="URL" relationType="IsPartOf">https://nadre.ethernet.edu.et/communities/003</relatedIdentifier>
  </relatedIdentifiers>
  <version>version 1</version>
  <rightsList>
    <rights rightsURI="http://www.opendefinition.org/licenses/cc-by">Creative Commons Attribution</rights>
    <rights rightsURI="info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess">Open Access</rights>
  </rightsList>
  <descriptions>
    <description descriptionType="Abstract">&lt;p&gt;ABSTRACT&lt;br&gt;
Land degradation through soil erosion poses a critical threat to agricultural productivity&lt;br&gt;
and food security in the highland area of the country.. soil erosion has reached alarming&lt;br&gt;
levels, severely impacting smallholder farmers who depend on the land for their&lt;br&gt;
subsistence. The Arbegona woreda, known for its hilly terrain and unpredictable rainfall,&lt;br&gt;
faces considerable soil degradation issues, exacerbated by the traditional farming&lt;br&gt;
practices that often neglect soil conservation techniques This problem leads to the&lt;br&gt;
depletion of fertile soil, reduced agricultural yields, and increased vulnerability to climate&lt;br&gt;
change Physical measures such as terraces, bunds, and check dams, have been widely&lt;br&gt;
promoted as solutions to reduce soil erosion and improve soil fertility. However, the&lt;br&gt;
uptake of these practices among farmers remains inconsistent, largely due to their&lt;br&gt;
perceptions of the effectiveness and feasibility of these methods Additionally, many farmers&lt;br&gt;
in the this Woreda are deterred from adopting physical conservation measures due to the&lt;br&gt;
perceived high costs, labor intensiveness, and the lack of immediate, visible benefits.&lt;br&gt;
This study assessed farmers&amp;#39; perceptions of soil erosion and the adoption of physical soil&lt;br&gt;
conservation measures in Arbegona Woreda, . A mixed-methods approach was employed,&lt;br&gt;
combining a survey of 148 randomly selected farmers with key informant interviews, focus&lt;br&gt;
group discussions, and field observations. A survey results revealed that majority (86.5%)&lt;br&gt;
of farmers perceived soil erosion as a severe or moderate problem, accurately identifying&lt;br&gt;
heavy rainfall (91.9%), steep slopes (83.8%), and deforestation (75.7%) as primary causes&lt;br&gt;
of soil erosion. Likewise, adoption of physical soil conservation measures was moderate,&lt;br&gt;
with soil bunds (43.2%) and stone bunds (39.2%) most common, while about 10.8% of&lt;br&gt;
farmers were high adopters. A survey finding reveals that, overall, 24.3% of farmers were&lt;br&gt;
non-adopters, 39.2% were low adopters, 25.7% were medium adopters, and only 10.8%&lt;br&gt;
were high adopters of physical soil conservation measures. Binary logistic regression&lt;br&gt;
model identified that access to extension services, training, landholding size, and&lt;br&gt;
perception of erosion severity as the strongest predictors of adoption. However, only&lt;br&gt;
53.6% of adopters rated measures as effective, and field observations revealed only 21.4%&lt;br&gt;
of structures in good condition. Maintenance was inadequate, with 28.6% of farmers&lt;br&gt;
performing no maintenance due to labor shortages (75%) and dependency mindsets&lt;br&gt;
(43.8%). The study concludes that while farmers possess strong awareness of soil erosion,&lt;br&gt;
adoption is constrained by institutional, economic, and labor factors, and sustainability is&lt;br&gt;
compromised by poor maintenance and lack of ownership. Therefore, the study&lt;br&gt;
recommends that strengthening extension services, providing practical training, promoting&lt;br&gt;
participatory approaches, and shifting policy focus from adoption targets to ensuring long-&lt;br&gt;
term functionality and maintenance of soil conservation structures.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
  </descriptions>
</resource>