FARMERS" WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR IMPROVED SOIL CONSERVATION PRACTICES ON COMMUNAL LANDS IN ETHIOPIA (CASE STUDY IN KUYU WOREDA)

This study examines the farmers" willingness to pay for improved soil conservation practices on
communal lands of Kuyu woreda in Ethiopia. The objective of this study is to investigate the
farmers" willingness to pay for improved soil conservation practices on communal lands of Kuyu
woreda. Both single and double-bounded dichotomous format of contingent valuation method is
used to elicit respondents" WTP for improved soil conservation practice in terms of labor
contribution. Data collected from 184 household heads were used for analysis. Both the Probit
and Bivariate Probit models were estimated. The result of the study indicated that most of the
respondents have perceived the problem of soil erosion and are willing to pay for conservation
practices. Household characteristics such as sex of household head, education level of the head
are significant determinants of farmers" WTP for soil conservation. Farmer"s wealth indictors
such as livestock and income were included and found to have a positive and significant
influence on the probability of WTP for soil conservation. Variables such as slope of land,
perception about soil erosion problem, and the frequency of extension visit have also a positive
and significant effect on the WTP for soil conservation. The study also show that the mean
willingness to pay estimated from the Double Bounded Dichotomous Choice and open
ended formats was 85.36 and 83.22 Labor days per annum, respectively