SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY
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DETERMINANTS OF FARMERS’ PARTICIPATION IN WATERSHED
MANAGEMENT AND ADOPTION OF SOIL AND WATER
CONSERVATION MEASURES IN WEST HARARGHE ZONE: THE
CASE OF HABRO DISTRICT
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M.Sc. Thesis Research Proposal

By
Hayalneh Zeleke

College: Agriculture and Environmental Sciences

School: Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management
Program: Agricultural Economics
Major Advisor: Endrias Geta (PhD)

November, 2012
Haramaya University
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS iii

LIST OF TABLES iv
LIST OF FIGURES v

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Back Ground of the Study 1
1.2. Statement of the Problem 4
1.3. Objectives of the Study 7
1.4. Significance of the Study 7
1.5. Scope and Limitations of the Study 8
1.6. Organization of the Thesis
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1. Concept, Definition and Theoretical Framework 9
2.1.1. Watershed degradation and management 9
2.1.2. The causal nexus between population, poverty and land degradation 10
2.1.3. Effect of soil erosion 13
2.1.4. Theoretical framework 14
2.2. Soil and Water Conservation 15
2.3. Economic Assessment of Soil and Water Conservation 16
2.4. Decision Making and Participation/Adoption Behavior in Soil and Water Conservation 17
2.5. Major Environmental and Ecological Problems in Ethiopia 18
2.5.1. Soil erosion and conservation efforts 20
2.6. Peoples’ Participation in Watershed Management 25
2.7. Empirical Studies on Farmers’ Decision to Participate in and Adoption of Conservation
Practices 26
3. DESCIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA
3.1. Location
3.2. Demographic Characteristics
3.3. Natural Environment and Resource Base
 TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED)
3.3.1. Climate and Soil
3.3.2. Resource Base and vegetation
3.4. Agriculture
3.4.1. Land Use and Crop Production
3.4.1.1. Land Use
3.4.1.2. Crop Production
3.4.2. Livestock Production
3.4.3. Agricultural Extension

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1. Type and Sources of Data 33
4.2. Sampling Technique and Procedure 33
4.3. Method of Data Analysis 34
4.3.1. Specification of econometric model 35
4.4. Definition of Variables and Working Hypothesis 40

4. WORK PLAN 48

5. BUDGET PLAN 49

6. REFERENCES 50

ii
 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

BSF Belgium Survival Fund

CSA Central Statistics Agency
CBPWMP Community Based Participatory Watershed Management Program
EHLR Ethiopian Highland Reclamation
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FFW Food- For-Work
GDP Gross Domestic Product
Ha. Hectare
HDOoA Habro District Office of Agriculture
ILRI International Livestock Research Institute
LDCs Least Developed Countries
m.a.s.l meters above sea level
MoFED Ministry of Finance and Economic Development
NGOs Non Governmental Organizations
OLS Ordinary Least Square
PSNP Productive Safety Net Program
KAs Kebeles
SSA Sub-Sahara Africa
SWC Soil and Water Conservation
TLU Tropical Livestock Unit
UNDP United Nations Development Program
USAID United States Agency for International Development
VIF Variance Inflation Factor
WFP World Food Program
WHZBoPED Western Hararghe Zone Bureau of Planning and Economic
Development

iii
 LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 1: Estimated rate of soil loss on slope in Ethiopia under various soil cover…….. 21
Table 2: Population size by sex and age structure in Habro district, (2014)
Table 3: Land Use Pattern of Habro district in (2014/15)
Table 4: Area, production and yield of major crops in Habro district in 2014/2015 main
cropping (‘Meher’) season.
Table 5: Livestock population in Habro district, 2014
Table 6: Distribution of demographic characteristics of sample households
Table 7: Distribution of total family members of sample households by age group (2007 E.C)
Table 8: Distribution of sample households by family size
Table 9: Distribution of sample household heads by age group
Table 10: Distribution of sample household heads by education status
Table 11: Distribution of sample household heads by land holding
Table 12: Distribution of sample household by number of owned farm plots
Table 13: Distribution of far plots by slope category, level of fertility, and soil color
Table 14: Distribution of sample households by size of labor (man-days per day)
Table 15: Major causes of land degradation and their ranks by sample household heads
Table 16: Distribution of sample farm plots use in crop production
Table 17: Type and number of livestock owned by the sample households
Table 18: Distribution of sample households by size of livestock holding (TLU)
Table 19: Distribution of sample farmer’s households by adoption and participation
Table 20: Number of households and farm plots by type of improve SWC measures use
Table 21: Number of sample households and farm plots by type of traditional SWC measures
Table 22: Distribution of number of days per week sample farmers’ household participation in
watershed management SWC activities
Table 23: Definition and measurement of variables used in the model
Table 24: Maximum likelihood Estimates of Tobit Model (improved soil and water
conservation measure)
Table 25: Marginal effect of explanatory variables on the use of improved soil conservation
technologies
Table 26: Maximum likelihood Estimates of Tobit Model for participation in watershed
management/development SWC activities
Table 27: Marginal effect of explanatory variables on the participation in watershed
development

LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 2.1: Farmers’ and scientists concern about soil and water conservation and crop
production………………………………………………………………………………… 16
Figure 2.2: The Ervin and Ervin (1982) conceptual model of the adoption process……… 18
Figure3.1: Geographic location of the study area………………………………………….
 ABSTRACT

Economic development in Ethiopia is hampered by many factors among which land

degradation in the form of soil erosion is the major one, which is threatening the overall
sustainability of agricultural production of the country. Soil erosion in most part of Ethiopian
highlands has reached the point where it will become increasingly difficult even to maintain
the present day of agricultural production of basic food which is already insufficient in many
regions of the country. Currently, in response to the extensive land degradation, Ethiopia,
through the government and donors supported soil and water conservation programs, is
undertaking some effort to mitigate the problem of soil erosion in some degraded area of the
highlands including Habro district of West Hararghe zone.

Therefore, the objectives of this study were to examine how farmers in Habro district of West
Hararghe zone are trying to meet the challenge of degradation and soil productivity decline
because of soil erosion and what determines to undertake soil and water conservation
measures on-and-off their farm land which enhance integrated and sustainable productivity of
farming.

Both primary and secondary data were collected for this purpose. The primary data were
collected from 123 sample households possessing 206 farm plots from 6 kebeles in Habro
district proportionately and randomly. Tobit model analysis was used to estimate physical,
socioeconomic and institutional factors that affect the practice of soil and water conservation
measures on-and-off the farm land. In addition descriptive statistics were also used as deemed
necessary.

The result of this study indicated that farmers' farm level and common land conservation
decisions and the extent of plot level adoption of improved soil and water conservation
measures and participation in watershed development SWC on common land were influenced
by a host of physical social, economic and institutional factors. Physical factors such as slope
of the farm plots and distance of the farm plots from residence significantly influenced the use
of both traditional and improved soil conservation measures. Area of cultivated land
increased the probability of using improved soil conservation measures especially improved
soil bund and cut off drain. Farmers’ age decreased the use of improved soil conservation
structures while education level of head of households has positive impact on soil
conservation. Extension education had a substantial contribution to motivate the use of
improved soil conservation measures but it had no effect on the use of traditional soil
conservation practices. Land to labor ratio affected the use of both traditional and improved
soil conservation practices.

Based on the results obtained, the following points were found to be of paramount importance:
natural resource conservation policies should account for inter plot variation and the
importance of physical factors in the design and promotion of conservation technologies; the
need for policies which are likely to influence the awareness of individual farmers through
extension service towards the effect of soil conservation; policy makers and development
agencies should target soil conservation technologies on the basis of age; shift of emphasis by
concerned organizations and government bodies involved in soil conservation to give greater
attention in conserving soils before the land lost all the fertile soils rather than targeting on
lands that has been already exhausted and degraded; targeting diffusion of different
(alternative) soil conserving technologies particularly to areas relatively having greater area
of arable land and to areas having smaller area of cultivated land; integrating of indigenous
soil conservation practices with improved ones to increases sustainability of modern
agricultural and natural resource conservation system; promotion of substitute and/or
complementary traditional soil conservation methods and improve their effectiveness to
provide more choices to farmers to select methods that they consider to be the most
appropriate to their situations.